Crimson Sands
by JJ-chan100
Summary: Gaara Sabaku, a sand demon who is starting his first day at Kamachi School for the Supernatural, is not a very happy demon. He may make some new friends on his first day, but he will also make an enemy. Neji Hyuga. The sexy sorcery demon has it out for the poor crimson haired boy. Or is he after him in a different way? RATED M FOR A REASON! Slight SasuNaru, ShinoKiba, and KankuSa
1. The Raccoon Demon, Gaara

**Hello ****all ****and ****welcome****! ****I ****hope ****that ****you ****NejiGaa ****fans ****will ****truly ****enjoy ****this ****story****! ****It ****won****'****t ****have ****any ****smut ****until ****future ****chapters ****but ****be ****patient****~ ;) **

**RATED ****M ****FOR ****A ****REASON ****PEOPLE****! **

**Will ****also ****contain ****some ****SasuNaru****, ****ShinoKiba****, ****and ****KankuSai****!**

**Enough ****talk****! ****Read ****on~**

Kamachi School for the Supernatural. A place for supernatural beings to learn and master whatever skills they may possess. The school was large, split into three buildings, and was a haven for monsters, freaks, and spirits who wanted to get to know others. The first building was the educations building where all classes were held, the second was the boys dormitory, and the third was the girls dormitory. Kamachi was conveniently place on a beach, Konoha Beach to be exact, and gym class was frequently held there. The students were especially happy with the beach, for that is where most chose to hang out on the weekends. Well, most of them were happy anyways. Except for Gaara Sabaku.

When eighteen year old Gaara learned that he and his siblings would be attending a school set on a beach, he was more than displeased. Most people would question this, seeing as how Gaara's strongest ability was the manipulation of sand, but those who really knew him, being his brother and sister, understood perfectly well.

The sun. Poor Gaara was as pale as a ghost and turned lobster red within 20 minutes of being exposed to the sun. It was one of his worst enemies and seeing as how he never bothered to go outside much, it always would be.

Gaara was a very strange being. He was a demon and a rare one at that. He was the Raccoon Demon, one of the rare tailed beasts that existed, but that wasn't all. Gaara was also gifted in art, wind manipulation, shapeshifting, hand to hand combat, and illusions. Another thing that made him stand out and set him aside from other creatures was his appearance. Gaara had fiery crimson hair, teal eyes which were outlined in charcoal, giving him the appearance of a raccoon, extremely pale skin, a blood-red tattoo on his forehead which was ironically the japanese symbol for 'love', he lacked eyebrows, and his wardrobe consisted of blacks, reds, and greys, which did not help his sun issue at all. Also, despite the fact that the red-headed demon was eighteen, he was much shorter than most people his age, usually coming up to only their shoulders.

Gaara was presently on a plane with his older siblings, headed for the new city and school he was being forced to go to. Truthfully, he didn't give a shit about school. Without even trying, he passed all of his classes with flying colors and only had the occasional struggle with history. Who cared about a bunch of dead guys and wars? Certainly not him.

For the past two hours, Gaara has been stuck between his two siblings with a little kid kicking the back of his seat and a fat guy snoring loudly in front of him. If the plane didn't land soon, then the flight attendants were going to have quite a mess to clean up. It was about ten minutes before the plane finally touched ground, which was nine minutes and fifty-five seconds too long for the irritated sand demon. When the pilot announced that they were allowed to leave, Gaara had grabbed his messenger bag and hightailed it off the plane before most passengers even had their seatbelts undone.

As the young demon went to stand at the luggage conveyor belt, he enjoyed the cool air conditioning and looked for his siblings. When his bags finally arrived he had yet to spot neither his older brother nor his older sister, so he decided to go ahead and wait outside. Big mistake. The minute he stepped outside, Gaara was assaulted by blistering heat and the bright rays of the sun. With a grunt of disapproval, he briskly walked back inside.

Sitting himself down on a bench that was directly beneath a vent, he waited. It was at least fifteen minutes before he caught sight of pale blond hair and purple face paint.

"Gaara! We've been looking all over the place for you!" His older sister, Temari, scolded as they approached him, a rather displeased look on her face.

"Yeah, kid. This is a new place, it'd be too easy for you to get lost." Kankuro, his older brother, reasoned.

With only a huff in response, Gaara stood up with his bags and headed for the exit, knowing his siblings would follow.

Gaara's siblings were certainly not as odd as him, but they were a far cry from normal. Temari was very pretty, with her blonde hair pulled into four spiky ponytails and her dark green eyes. She also had a very nice figure and though she attracted many admirers, she devoted most of her time taking care of her little brothers. In a way, she was more of a mother than a sister. Temari was a fairy, born without wings, and was talented in wind manipulation, even more so than Gaara. To enhance her abilities, she used a rather large fan which she always carried with her. Then there was Kankuro. Kankuro was a puppet master, having the ability to control puppets from a distance. He could also control other creatures as long as he had an object from them; a piece of hair, clothing, blood, even an eyelash. He was also a specialist in poisons and potions. Kankuro had short, spiky brown hair and beady black/brown eyes. He always had his face painted with the purple markings of the puppet masters, giving him a rather peculiar appearance since the paint also covering his lips.

Gaara cared deeply for his siblings, annoying as they may be, but never showed it. To say the least, the raccoon demon wasn't very emotion, usually only expressing annoyance, anger, and _very __rarely _amusement.

As the Sabaku children walked down the sidewalks of Konoha they continuously checked their map to make sure they were headed in the right direction. Kamachi School for the Supernatural was supposedly easy to find. What a bunch of crap. It took the three siblings an hour of map checking and asking directions before they finally caught a glimpse of the rather large buildings.

Temari took the lead, knowing where they were supposed to meet their guides. Despite the fact that Temari was a year older, her and Kankuro were in the same grade, but since she was a girl she would have a different guide. This was the older siblings' last year of education while Gaara still had another year to go.

Walking towards the entrance of the educations building, the siblings caught sight of three people. The first person was a female with short pink hair, mint green eyes, and a sweet smile. The second person was a rather creepy looking male who had gray skin, short black hair, and an obviously fake grin. The third pers-Holy shit. Who let _this _train wreck out of the circus? The third person was an energetic male with a horrible bowl cut, big round eyes, and a hideous green jumpsuit.

The siblings were greeted as soon as they approached the other teens.

"Hi! My name is Sakura Haruno and welcome to Kamachi!" The pinkette said happily. Gaara immediately didn't like her.

"Hello. My name is Sai. It's a great pleasure to meet you all." The gray skinned male said in a monotone voice, fake smile and all.

Gaara actually flinched at the next greeting.

"WELCOME TO KAMACHI MY YOUTHFUL NEW FRIENDS! I am Rock Lee, the handsome devil of Konoha! It is a pleasure to see such shining new faces enter our school!" The kid with the horrible haircut seemed to be a never-ending pit of happiness and energy. It made Gaara sick.

"I'm Temari. It's nice to meet you." The blonde fairy said politely.

"I'm Kankuro!" The puppet master greeted happily. He pointed to Gaara and said, "This is Gaara." The redhead merely snorted in response.

Sakura stepped forward and smiled brightly at Temari. "Well Temari, I'll be your guide for today. I'm a grade below you but I know where every class is and I'll show you to your dorm room! Can I see your schedule?"

Temari handed over her schedule and with a quick goodbye she followed the pinkette.

"Kankuro, if you will follow me I will also show you where you'll be staying and then I can show you where your classes are." Sai said, his fake grin never wavering. Without waiting for an answer, he took hold of Kankuro's arm and began to literally drag him to the boys dormitory. The puppet master shouted to his younger brother that he would see him later.

Fuck.

Gaara glared at the energetic boy in front of him, who did nothing but grin and bounce on the balls of his feet.

"Well Gaara-san it looks like it's you and me! Unlike my dear friends who just left, I am actually in your grade so I hope that we will have many classes together! Where would you like to go first?" Lee's happiness was so intense that Gaara could do nothing more than turn and head towards what he assumed was the dormitory.

"To your room it is then! Tell me Gaara-san, what type of creature are you? I am a Dryad!" Lee called happily as he caught up with the demon.

Gaara stared ahead as he walked and gave a short answer. "Racoon Demon."

The energetic tree nymph gasped and went into another loud rant. "YOU ARE ONE OF THE LEGENDARY TAILED BEASTS?! WHY GAARA THAT IS POSITIVELY AMAZING! Later on I simply must introduce you to my dear friend Naruto! He is amazing as well, for he-"

And Gaara tuned out at that point, not being able to stand the sound of the boy's loud voice. Despite how terribly annoying he seemed, the little demon didn't feel as if he hated Lee. It was almost refreshing to be around that much energy when he himself was quite lazy and prefered to keep quiet.

Gaara continued to ignore his companion as they walked until-

"GAARA!"

Lee's sudden shout of his name brought the raccoon demon back to attention.

"What?" Gaara muttered, not caring that his annoyance showed in his voice.

"You haven't told me your room number!"

Sighing, the redhead reached into one of his bags and produced his schedule, which also contained the rest of his needed information. Lee snatched the paper out of his hand and after scanning over it for a moment, grinned widely and shouted, "Follow me Gaara-san!" The dryad began to walk quickly down the hall.

Gaara glared at him as he tried to keep up. "Quit calling me that. Gaara is fine."

Coming to an abrupt stop, Lee motioned to the door in front of them.

"Room 162B!"

Gaara stared at door, hoping that he was lucky enough not to have a roommate. He pulled out his key that was sent to him through the mail and unlocked the door. Walking in, the raccoon demon breathed a sigh of relief at seeing the room completely empty. No roommate. He dropped all of his luggage in front of the bed which was pushed into the far left corner of the room, leaving the bed to the right of the room empty. Between the two beds was a long table which had two lamps sitting atop it. There was a desk on both sides of the room, at the foot of the beds, and two closets. On the right wall was another door which Gaara asked about.

"Oh! That leads to the conjoined bathroom which you shall share with the room next door!" Lee exclaimed happily. Well, that wasn't _too _bad. Just a bathroom, right?

"COME NOW MY NEW FRIEND! I SHALL SHOW YOU TO YOUR CLASSES!" The energetic nymph took hold of Gaara's arm, ignoring the growl that was sent his way, and dragged the raccoon demon out of the room.

Gaara was about to commit murder. Lee was tolerable at first, but now the red-headed demon, after having spent 2 hours with the nymph, want nothing more than to grind his head into ash. The flamboyant male had not only showed him his classes, oh no, he showed him the _whole __campus__._ By the end of the tour, it was lunch time for all the students already in class.

Lee was now dragging the poor demon out to the beach and Gaara quickly summoned a small spell which covered all of his exposed limbs in a thick layer of sunscreen.

"I must introduce you to my friends, Gaara! They are the most wonderful group and I know you'll come to love them!" The nymph was shouting so loudly that some of the students who were enjoying lunch turned their heads to see what the commotion was. Great. Just what he need on his first day.

They finally came up to a small group of teenagers who were huddled under a large palm tree, enjoying their lunch.

"MY YOUTHFUL FRIENDS! PLEASE MEET A NEW MEMBER OF OUR FABULOUS SCHOOL, GAARA!" Lee smiled happily at his friends, who immediately turned their attention to the young demon.

Gaara stared at them all, trying not to glare, and said as nicely as possible, "Hi. I'm Gaara Sabaku."

After he introduced himself, the group broke out into smiles, some bigger than others. A boy who was slightly taller than him stood up and shot his hand forward.

"Hi there! My name is Naruto Uzumaki and I'm the Fox Demon! Believe it!" The boy was loud, not as loud as Lee of course, and had vibrant yellow spiked hair and sparkling blue eyes. Deciding he didn't hate the guy, Gaara shook his hand.

"I'm the Raccoon Demon."

At hearing this, Naruto's grin widened. "Really?! That's so awesome! You have to train with me sometime and show me what you can do!" Gaara agreed and another person from their group approached him.

"Kiba Inuzuka! Nice to meet you! I'm a hell hound hybrid." Try saying that five times fast. This guy had short, messy brown hair, red fang marks on his cheeks, point fangs, and small black eyes. There was a loud bark from behind and a very large dog strolled up beside of him.

"Oh! And this is Akamaru!" Kiba exclaimed, patting the dog's head.

Gaara greeted them both and a movement on the ground averted his attention. There laid a boy with black hair pulled into a spiky ponytail and his arms laying behind his head. The boy opened one brown eye and sighed.

"Shikamaru Nara, shadow demon." And with that, he rolled over and appeared to fall asleep. Lazy ass...Gaara approved.

"CHOJI!" Naruto yelled. "Quick stuffing your face and introduce yourself!"

Gaara looked to see who the blonde was referring to and saw a rather large boy who had brown hair that looked like a lion's mane, a red swirl on each cheek, squinty black eyes, and a hand inside a potato chip bag. The chubby male popped another chip in his mouth.

"Hey! *munch munch* I'm Choji Akimichi! *munch* I'm a butterfly fairy!"

Gaara was slightly disgusted at how when Choji spoke, food would fly from his mouth, but he was more focused on what the tubby 'fairy' had just said. A _butterfly _fairy? How the hell was he a butterfly fairy?! Butterfly fairies were known for being elegant, thin, and beautiful. Choji was...well...everything but. He would have to ask Lee about it later.

Seeing that all introductions were finished, Naruto forced the sand demon to sit down next to him. After five minutes it was obvious that Naruto, Lee, and Kiba were the talkative ones of the group. They were well into a conversation about how it was unfair that the girls had a separate lunch when Gaara felt someone staring at him. A glare quickly formed on his face. If there was one thing he absolutely couldn't stand, it was being stared at. Turning around quickly, his eyes landed on a table which he immediately labeled the "Asshole Table".

There sat three boys, all eyes on him. They had that 'popular and smug' air around them that some boys at his old school possessed. It pissed him off.

One boy had dark blackish blue hair that sort of resembled a duck's ass, and had cool, black eyes. He was tall and had a slightly menacing feel to him. Of course, Gaara wasn't intimidated by anyone.

Another boy had fluffy brown that almost seemed like an afro but not quite, his eyes were covered by round black glasses, and his shirt had a high collar that covered his mouth. Creepy guy. The weirdo pulled up the hood on his jacket when he noticed Gaara's gaze.

It was the third guy that really seemed to grab the raccoon demon's attention. He had long, silky, dark brown hair that was tied into a loose ponytail at the bottom, he had milky white skin, and captivating, pearly white eyes that seemed to have a hint of lavender in them. This guy had an elegant face and body structure and he practically screamed 'bow down to me'. It wasn't until the beautiful man smirked that Gaara became pissed off.

"OI! BASTARDS!" Naruto screamed, having noticed that they were staring at his new friend. "QUIT STARING AT HIM AND MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS!"

The one with the duckbutt hair seemed amused by this outburst and smirked at the blonde.

The fox demon, ignoring the smirk, quickly turned to Gaara and said, "Ignore them. They're just a bunch of jerks who think they're better than everyone else because they have a lot of money. That and girls seem to think they're the hottest things to every spawn on the earth."

"Who are 'they'?" Gaara asked, actually curious.

Naruto crossed his arms and frowned. "The one with the glasses is Shino Aburame, an insect charmer. He's not really that bad-" A snort from Kiba interrupted him. "The one with the white eyes is Neji Hyuga, a sorcery demon. He's an ass who thinks no one can compare to his 'greatness'."

"Greatness my ass." Gaara muttered, earning a laugh from the blonde demon.

"I _knew _I'd like you! Also, the one with the black hair is Sasuke Uchiha, a cursed demon. I've hated that jerk for as long as I've known him." Naruto spat.

"A cursed demon?" The sand demon asked, having never heard of such a demon.

The blonde nodded and said, "Yeah. He was born with a curse that when activated turns him into an incredibly strong demon...dragon...thing. It's hard to explain. You'll see it soon enough."

Gaara just nodded. Well, at least this school wasn't boring. The raccoon demon continued to chat with his new...'acquaintances' until they had to return to class.

"Hey Gaara!" Naruto shouted on his way to the educations building.

The redhead, who was beginning to make his way back to his room, turned around and raised a non-existent eyebrow at the other demon.

"After school's over, meet me and the others in front of the dorms and we'll show you around town!"

Gaara was very tempted to say no, being one who enjoyed staying indoors, and took a minute to think about it. Well, he didn't have anything better to do and he need to know his way around town.

"...Sure." The sand demon said, just loud enough for the blonde to hear.

Hollering in joy, Naruto waved goodbye to him and ran inside. At least now Temari wouldn't lecture him about making friends.

Gaara turned around and ran into something very firm. Looking up, teal eyes clashed with white. A glare formed on the raccoon demon's face as he continued to stare at the sorcery demon.

"Watch where you're going, asshole." Gaara hissed in his usual low voice. Neji seemed slightly shocked at the insult, not expecting it from such a small creature.

The shocked expression quickly turned to one of slight amusement.

"I was just coming over to introduce myself." The tall teenager spoke in a silky smooth voice. "My name is Neji Hyuga and I'm a sorcery demon. You are?"

The redhead, already disliking the high and mighty demon, simply said, "None of your damn business. If you really wanna know, figure it out yourself."

With that, the raccoon demon walked around the stunned Hyuga, who was obviously not used to being blown off, and headed for the dorms. As he walked, he was more than aware of the angry, pale eyes following him.

**End ****of ****chapter**** 1! ****Hope ****you ****enjoyed****!**

**PLEASE ****REVIEW****! **


	2. Konoha Beach

**Welcome ****to ****chapter**** 2 ****of ****Crimson ****Sands****! ****Thanks ****to **_**DarkAngelJudas**__**, **__**An**__**-**__**Uke**__**-**__**Named**__**-**__**Sasu**__**, **_**and ****to ****everyone ****else ****who ****reviewed****! ****You****'****re ****opinions ****are ****always ****welcome ****here****! :) ****Also****, ****if ****you ****guys ****have ****any ****ideas ****or ****suggestions ****for ****my ****story ****please ****feel ****free ****to ****share ****them****!**

By the time Gaara got back to his room, there was still one hour left of school for his new friends. What was a young demon to do to pass the time? Take a nap, of course! Now don't misunderstand, Gaara is not lazy. It was just the fact that at night, the raccoon demon doesn't sleep, so to make up for it he takes a few naps throughout the day. Before crawling onto his bed, the raccoon demon set the alarm on his phone so that he wouldn't oversleep.

A loud crashing sound could be heard as Gaara threw his phone into the wall. He had forgotten how irritating his phone was when it woke him up and now he was in a terrible mood. Forcing himself to stand, the sand demon went over to his destroyed phone and kneeled next to it. He let his hand hover over the broken pieces and with a few muttered words, they slowly began to reconnect, turning back into a phone. The fix wouldn't be permanent, the spell he used was only meant to last for 24 hours, and he would eventually have to get a new one.

Gaara quickly located his black messenger bag, decorated with red and gray patches, and packed a few things he might need while out with Naruto and the others. He grabbed his wallet, a pair of swimming trunks, his room card, headache pills, and just in case he got bored, his sketchbook. Leaving the room, mood not improved in the least, he headed towards the exit.

The minute he walked outside, he was nearly tackled to the ground by an overly excited Lee, who was now clinging to his shoulders.

"GAARA MY NEW FRIEND! It's so good to see you again!" The nymph declared loudly.

After waiting for his ears to stop ringing, Gaara muttered irritably, "It's only been an hour, Lee."

The energetic youth threw an arm around the young demon's shoulder, oblivious to his horrible mood.

"And yet it has felt like AGES!"

The raccoon demon glared at the offensive limb that was touching him and considered biting it off. Kiba, noticing the look the redhead had, quickly pulled Lee away to prevent him from being bodily harmed.

Naruto approached the grumpy sand demon with a large smile on his face. At least he wasn't as annoying as Lee.

"So, Gaara. Where do you want to go?"

_Someplace __quiet__._ "Anywhere is fine."

Not wanting to disappoint his friends, Gaara chose to suffer through whatever activities they deemed as 'fun'. Back in his old city, Sunagakure, the raccoon demon was never able to make a friend. Since his father was the mayor, any kid who wanted to be his friend just wanted to gain status and that caused Gaara to isolate himself. Here in Konoha, he was a nobody, and that's just how he wanted it.

Naruto and his friends began to lead Gaara towards the beach and, realizing he would once again be exposed to the sun, the raccoon demon activated the same spell as before which covered his pale skin in powerful sunscreen.

"Where are we going?" The red-headed demon asked, eyeing the teenager infested sands.

The blonde fox demon grinned and pointed down the beach to a location that couldn't be seen at the moment.

"We have our own little spot further on down the beach. It's really shady so not many people hang out there and the sand is really clean, unlike here where all of these jerks just toss their trash on the ground." Naruto explained as they continued to walk.

As they headed for their location, Gaara took in the students who had taken over the beach, identifying the different groups. Closest to the water were obviously the athletes. It was a combination of water beings, animal hybrids, and strong creatures who were racing in the water and tossing around frisbees and footballs. There, laying out in the sun, were the 'popular' students. Fairies, demons, elves, sirens, encantados, and even a few sun-resistant vampires were laying on expensive blankets while enjoying cool drinks, some of them probably alcoholic, and were chatting happily. Laying around them were what must have been the fans. Weaker creatures were sitting around the beautiful teenagers, giggling and blushing. Puke. Sitting out of the way, mostly in the shade, were the rebels. Gaara found himself liking this group. Imps, werewolves, banshees, mutants, shades, and wendigos were huddles in a group, sending occasional glares toward the brightly dressed teens soaking up the sun's rays.

Naruto brought the sand demon out of his observations by announcing that they were almost there and Gaara recognized the spot as soon as he saw it. A little ways away, the beach broke off into a patch of forest and beautiful, large trees casted shadows of the pale sand. There were still quite a few people around but it wasn't nearly as bad as when they were closer to the school.

As they all settled down, laying a few towels out in the sun, Gaara took up position in a nice patch of shade. Naruto joined him and asked, "Don't like the sun?" The raccoon demon shook his head.

"It's not hard to tell, seeing how pale he is!" Kiba teased, taking off his shirt. The blonde demon perked up at this and stood up.

"You getting in?" He asked, taking off his shirt as well.

The hellhound grinned and went behind a couple of trees to change into his swim gear. "Yep! The water looks really good today!" Kiba turned his attention to Gaara. "You should swim too! The water here in Konoha is really nice."

The sand demon stayed silent for a moment before replying, "Maybe in a little while."

When Kiba was finished changing, Naruto took his turn and emerged a few minutes later wearing bright orange trunks, nearly blinding the poor redhead. Gaara raised a curious eyebrow when the two friends crouched down beside each other and faced the water.

"Ready, dog-breath?"

"Oh, I'm ready, whisker-face."

"1..."

"2..."

"3!"

Kiba and Naruto raced towards the water, pushing each other and laughing the whole way. As those two continued their fun, Gaara sat there in the shade by himself. Well, he might as well have been by himself, what with Shikamaru asleep on a beach towel and Choji nowhere to be found. Wait, where'd Lee go?

A blur shot past the redhead and Gaara quickly identified what it was. Rock Lee was currently running toward his two friends and he was wearing...a hideous pair of green swim trunks. Dear God.

The raccoon demon watched in slight amusement as the tree nymph tackled his companions into the water. All three came up a few seconds later, sputtering and laugh, and Gaara found himself wanting to be a part of it, there was just one things stopping him. He had been feeling it for the past fifteen minutes. Someone was staring at him. The small demon turned slightly and let his piercing teal eyes scour the beach and it didn't take long for him to pinpoint the location of his annoyance. Sitting under an umbrella with a book in his lap, was none other than Neji Hyuga, who Gaara has appropriately labeled 'the asshole'. The two stared each other down, neither wanting to be the one who looked away first. White clashed with teal as the silent battle continued and it only got worse when the sorcery demon smirked.

"GAARA!"

The raccoon demon snapped his head towards the water when he heard his name called and saw Naruto waving at him with a grin, trying to get him to join the fun.

Screw Neji. Gaara was going to have fun, even if it killed him. Pulling out his black swim trunks, the sand demon went behind the trees and changed. Conjuring up a bit more sunscreen, Gaara headed towards the water, trying to ignore the eyes following him. He knew from experience that it wasn't just the asshole's eyes that watched him as he walked; it was most of the students observing him as well.

The raccoon demon knew why they were doing it, all of them wanting a glimpse to see if the new kid had a 'desirable body' or some crap like that. Gaara knew that while some people would find him repulsive, others would see him as exotic. Most of his past admirers were highly attracted to him for his strange appearance and style, but when it came to his body it was a different story. Scars littered his back and torso, the result of many past fights with schoolmates and beatings from his father.

As Gaara approached the water, he noticed that his friends were a lot further out than he'd originally thought. Knowing he wasn't the best swimmer, the raccoon demon waded out until the water was just below his chest. This earned a curious look from his blond friend.

"Hey." Naruto said as he swam up beside the redhead. "What are you doing? Aren't you going out any further?"

Gaara shook his head.

"Why not?"

"...I'm not really good at swimming."

The fox demon was silent for a moment before grinning widely. "No problem! Here." Naruto turned around bent over slightly. Gaara stared at him before finally understanding.

"Hell no." Was his reply. The blond laughed, not ready to give up.

"Come on, Gaara! It's just a piggyback ride!"

Realizing that Naruto wasn't going to let this go, the raccoon demon released a sigh and climbed onto the blonde's back. As the fox demon began to swim out into the water, Gaara clutched his shoulders, not wanting to fall.

Kiba, Lee, Naruto, and Gaara stayed in the water for about thirty minutes before deciding to head back to the sand for some games. The whole time they had been swimming, the redhead continued to feel eyes watching him and each time he looked back at the shore, he would see Neji staring at him.

As the water reached their hips, Naruto let Gaara down so that he could walk back to shore himself. The raccoon demon was just starting to head for his shady spot when he was suddenly being dragged in the opposite direction by Kiba.

"You can't sit down yet!" The hellhound laughed.

Gaara, just wanting to relax and dry off, asked, "Why not?"

"Because!" Naruto yelled, holding a volleyball in his hands. "Without you we won't have even teams!"

The raccoon demon allowed himself to be dragged across the sand but when Gaara realized where the volleyball court was set up, he cursed silently. Not too far from their playing spot was Neji and his group, still hanging out and chatting. The sand demon wasn't sure why he disliked the pale-eyed man so much but he did. Determined not to let the sorcery demon ruin his 'fun', Gaara took up position next to Naruto, ready to play.

"Which game are we playing?" Kiba asked, grinning at Naruto.

The blond considered this a minute before replying, "Death Match. First to score one point wins."

Naruto threw the ball to Lee and Kiba, deciding to let them serve first. Gaara watched intently as the tree nymph threw the ball into the air. When it was hit, it came soaring at Naruto who ran forward and, clasping his hands together, hit the ball back over the net, signaling the beginning of the game.

For twenty minutes the volleyball flew back and forth over the net, never hitting the ground. All members of the game were performing various tricks; flipping, kicking, and leaping in order to hit the ball. It wasn't long before a small crowd gathered around the court to see who would win.

As the game continued, Gaara began to feel tired and it was obvious that he wouldn't be able to hold out much longer. When the ball came towards him again, the raccoon demon used his forearm to hit it back over the net and it headed right for an opening between Kiba and Lee. For a second, everyone thought it would hit, until Lee threw himself forward and just barely managed to get it back in the air for Kiba to send it back over.

Naruto saw that his teammate was getting tired and tried to think of a way to end this. After a few more hits, he got an idea. The fox demon hit the ball with enough force to send it to the back of their opponent's side and right as Lee ran to hit it back, he put his idea into action.

"GAARA!"

Gaara quickly looked over at the blond. Naruto bent down and pointed at the ball, a determined look in his blue eyes. Understanding what the gesture meant, the raccoon demon sprinted forward. Just as the ball was coming across the net, Gaara leaped off of Naruto's back and, doing a small turn in the air, slammed his heel into the volleyball. The ball crashed into the ground of Lee and Kiba's side, causing a small explosion of sand to leap off the ground.

Naruto let out a shout of victory as everyone stared at the steaming volleyball and smacked his teammate on the back, causing the smaller demon to fall face-first into the sand. Laughter erupted from the crowd around them and the fox demon helped Gaara up, apologizing frantically. Gaara didn't really care, it was only sand, but he _did _care when another volleyball hit him in the back and sent him to the ground again.

The redhead slowly looked up, only to be met with the sight of a smug-looking Neji fucking Hyuga walking towards him. As Naruto once again helped up the seething raccoon demon, Kiba marched up to the pale-eyed man.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!"

Neji raised an elegant eyebrow at the hellhound. "I don't quite understand what you mean."

"Bullshit!" Kiba hissed. "Gaara was standing right there and you just so happened to not see him? That's a load of crap!" As the hellhound's temper flared, two pointy, furry brown ears popped out of his head and a furry tail grew out from above the waistline of his trunks. This happened to most creatures with animalistic attributes. When they get mad or have a drastic change in emotion, their animal like features come out.

Shino, who had been standing behind Neji to observe the commotion, took a step forward. Standing in front of the hellhound, the two began to stare each other down.

"Please don't blame Neji for something he didn't mean to do." The bug charmer said quietly, a hint of warning in his tone.

"Stay the hell out of this!" Kiba hissed, ears and tail bristling.

Naruto, noticing the oncoming fight, quickly walked over to calm the young demon hound down and as the blond spoke soothingly to his friend, trying to convince him not to bite Shino, Gaara approached 'the asshole'. Noticing the look on the sand demon's face, all the teenagers surrounding them turned deathly quiet.

Glaring up at the taller man, Gaara spoke in a not so friendly voice, "Watch where you throw things, bastard."

Neji grinned at the sinister look on the redhead's face. "My apologies...Gaara, was it? I didn't mean to-"

"Cut the crap. I'm not interested in your bullshit apologies, so leave." Gaara shoved the volleyball that had hit him into the pale man's hands. Frowning now, Neji accepted the ball and tucked it under his arm.

"I didn't mean to make you angry, Gaara. It was just an accident. I hit the ball wrong and you happened to be in the way of it's path. You understand, right?" The sorcery demon asked, using a soothing voice to try and calm down the seething redhead.

"I understand that you're an asshole, if that's what you mean." Gaara hissed.

As a look of insult and anger passed Neji's face, a group of girls shoved their way through the crowd of teenagers. One particular girl, her brown hair pulled up into two buns, shouted angrily, "You can't talk to Neji like that! You should apologize for being so rude!"

Gaara ignored her as if she didn't even exist and said to the pale-eyed demon, "You have your ball back so I can't see why you're still standing there. Get lost."

Neji glared at him. "I was only trying to apologize."

"I don't see why you're apologizing when you hit him on purpose!" Naruto shouted, taking up position beside his redheaded friend. Noticing the blond taking part in the argument, Sasuke appeared beside Neji.

"And how do you know he did it on purpose, dobe? You weren't there when it happened." The cursed demon argued as he stared at the fox demon, amusement in his black eyes.

"I didn't have to be there, _teme__!_ Neji did it on purpose because he's a jerk!"

"Excuse me?" Neji hissed, not exactly happy with being called a jerk.

Not wanting Naruto to get into any trouble, Gaara clamped a hand over his big mouth and said, "Naruto is just telling it how it is. You're a jerk who needs to get over himself."

Narrowing his eyes, Neji released a low growl and took a step closer to the raccoon demon. Gaara, not one to be intimidated easily, released Naruto's mouth and also stepped forward, bringing him and the sorcery demon chest to...neck. Even though he was shorter than the other man, the redhead refused to back down as he stared up into pale orbs. The two began a sort of glaring contest that continued even when they heard a loud "What did you call me, teme?!" followed by a "You heard me, dobe." and then the sound of rough fighting.

"You know," Neji began in that high-and-mighty voice of his. "you should really change your attitude towards me. You don't know the kind of influences I have at this school."

"And I don't give a shit. Now fuck off." Gaara hissed.

The sorcery demon made a small 'hm' sound and studied the redhead before him. As pale eyes roamed the small, lithe body, Gaara fought the urge to punch the man square in the face. What gave that asshole the right to look at him like a piece of meat? Then something made the raccoon demon freeze up. Did Neji just...lick his lips? What the hell? The small redhead took a quick glance around to see if anyone had noticed it, but it seemed that everyone's attention was on Naruto and Sasuke's fight.

Deciding that being around the Hyuga might be harmful to him in a completely different way, Gaara quickly turned to the fight to try and stop it. Before he could break it up, Lee beat him to it.

Pushing apart the brawling students, the tree nymph yelled, "PLEASE STOP FIGHTING MY FRIENDS! I do not wish to see you getting in trouble over a small spat! You should put your youthful energy to better use, like a friendly competition!"

Almost everyone, including Naruto and Sasuke, cringed when Lee mention a friendly competition and Gaara found himself wondering what was so bad about it.

"Um, I'm good." Naruto muttered, backing up slightly.

"Yeah, me too." Sasuke made his way back over to Neji.

Gaara, grateful for the distraction, scurried over to his belongings. As he packed up his things, Naruto approached him, an unhappy look on his face.

"Sorry your first day kind of sucked. I didn't plan on those bastards ruining our fun." The blonde apologized, rubbing the back of his neck.

The raccoon demon slung his bag over his shoulder and shrugged. "It wasn't that bad. It was actually kind of...fun."

Naruto stared at his redheaded friend in surprise. "Really?" Gaara nodded.

"Great! I was worried that you were going to hate it here after all that." The fox demon was grinning widely but a quizative look crossed his face a minute later. "Hey, where'd Kiba go?"

Looking around, it was easy to spot the young hellhound. With a bristled tail and ears, Kiba was currently in another argument with Shino. The smaller man was livid, screaming and throwing his arms into the air, and Shino just stood there taking it.

"Why isn't he doing anything?" Gaara asked, referring to the insect charmer.

Naruto crossed his arms. "I don't really know. Kiba and Shino get into a lot of arguments but they've never actually hit each other. If you ask me, they have a little bit of a thing for each other."

The redhead watched them for a few more minutes before agreeing. As Naruto and him gathered their things and woke up a grumpy Shikamaru, they went to collect Kiba. They had to practically drag the young hellhound away from his argument.

As they were leaving, someone bumped into Gaara, nearly causing him to fall. He turned around to give said person a piece of his mind but stopped and glared once he saw who it was.

"See you tomorrow, Gaara." Neji purred, a smirk gracing his lips.

Deciding that the sorcery demon wasn't worth his breath, Gaara flipped him off and walked away.

Lesson of the day: Neji Hyuga is a narcissistic asshole.

**End ****of ****chapter**** 2!**

**PLEASE ****REVIEW****!**


	3. A Typical First Day?

**Hey ****guys ****and ****welcome ****back****!**

**A ****big ****thanks ****to ****anyone ****who ****reviewed ****and ****especially ****to **_**xytera **_**for ****giving ****me ****such ****amazing ****feedback****!**

**I ****hope ****you ****will ****continue ****to ****enjoy ****this ****story****!**

**VERY ****little ****NaruKiba ****in ****this****, ****just ****a ****little ****kiss ****but ****it ****has ****a ****purpose****!**

When Gaara woke up the day following his arrival, he realized one dreaded thing. Today would _officially _be his first day at Kamachi School for the Supernatural. Now don't misunderstand. Gaara liked learning, as long as it was something he didn't already know, but he did _not _like the personal interaction. There would undoubtedly be many students who want to talk to him and get to know him, being the new kid and all, but all the raccoon demon wanted was to be left alone. He found the presence of his new friends to be somewhat enjoyable but that was about as far as it went. Gaara was just a quiet creature who liked his alone time.

The redhead begrudgingly dragged himself out of bed and headed for the bathroom to get ready for the undoubtedly horrid day. Gaara's morning routines were simple enough; a quick shower, no breakfast, brushing his teeth, and clothes. The raccoon demon didn't take more than a five minute shower, just in case his unknown roommate needed it later, and he turned on the heater as soon as he stepped out. While heat blasted from the vent above his head, Gaara wrapped a soft towel around his waist and then went to retrieve his toothbrush and toothpaste. As he stood in front of the mirror, brushing his teeth, Gaara couldn't help but stare at his reflection. He really _was _a strange creature, his eyes being the most irregular thing. He had no pupils, just dull teal orbs, and that dark charcoal around his eyes never seemed to fade no matter how much he scrubbed at it. Another odd things about him was his lack of eyebrows, followed by his red kanji mark. When he was fourteen his father refused to let him get an eyebrow piercing, so in an act of defiance and anger he shaved the red patches of hair completely away and to this day they had never shown signs of growing back. There were also his more unappealing features. Gaara did not sleep at night, and as a result he had dark bags under his eyes that were just barely hidden by the dark charcoal rims surrounding his teal orbs. He also rarely ate, which was the reason for his petite body. Gaara also was not that fond of his sickly pale skin, which he would fix if not for his deep hatred for the sun.

Gaara thoroughly rinsed his mouth out and went to go get dressed. As he opened his closet, the sand demon pulled out the first articles of clothing he saw, not really caring about his looks. He yanked on a pair of loose black jeans, a gray and black striped long sleeve shirt, a huge gray t-shirt that had a gravestone in the center, and his worn black sneakers. Sighing, Gaara picked up his messenger bag and looked at the clock. He had thirty minutes to get to class. With half hearted steps, the sand demon left the dorms.

As Gaara walked through the front doors of the educations building, he couldn't help but notice how everything seemed so normal. Teenage creatures of all kinds, except for the nighttime beings, were skittering through the hallway, trying to reach their classes in time. When Gaara walked by certain groups, he took note of how some whispered and stared at him. The sand demon ignored them, of course, and continued on his way. His first class of the day was Anatomy, a subject he wasn't exactly crazy about. Following that, he had Spell Casting, Weaponry, Art, lunch, and then Free Period.

Reaching the door of his Anatomy class, Gaara prepared for the worse. He opened the door and, thank the sands, saw only a few students lingering around the room. Internally breathing a sigh of relief, Gaara made his way to one of the top seats. The room setup was typical; five aisles down made up of three rows, a set of stairs separating each row**(1)**. About five minutes after Gaara sat down, more students began to enter the room, much to the raccoon demon's dismay. One of the creatures who walked in was a nice surprise. Strolling in with his bright blond hair was none other than Naruto. The fox demon smiled brightly when he spotted his new friend and quickly made for the seat next to him.

"Hey Gaara!" Naruto greeted happily as he sat down next to the redhead. Gaara replied with a small grunt, not being a very talkative person in the morning. As the colorful demon chatted away, Gaara couldn't help but notice the next person to walk into the classroom. The sand demon's mood plummeted as Neji Hyuga waltzed in, followed by a small group of giggling females.

And here Gaara thought that Anatomy couldn't get any worse.

Thirty minutes. The Anatomy teacher is thirty minutes late. When Gaara questioned this, a grin spread over Naruto's face.

"That's Kakashi-sensei for you! He's a fairly good teacher but he's really lazy... and a pervert."

Gaara raised a questionable, nonexistent eyebrow at this but didn't dig any further. It was a few more minutes before the door finally opened and a man stepped inside the room. This person, like Gaara, was very strange looking. He had snow white hair that was spike to the side, a black mask that covered his mouth and nose, and a bandanna that covered one of his gray eyes. Well, Gaara _assumed _that the other eye was gray. Another noticeable thing about the man was the book that he was reading as he strolled over to his desk. Gaara could have sworn that it was porn.

"Good morning students." The man glanced up from his book as he said this. "As most of you know, my name is Hatake Kakashi. The reason I'm telling you this is because we have a new student. Sabaku Gaara?" His single gray eye ran up the aisles.

Gaara sighed and slowly stood up, this being one of the things he hated about starting school. Kakashi's eye landed on him and most of the students turned to stare.

"Ah, there you are. Well Gaara, why don't you introduce yourself and then tell us a little about you." Kakashi spoke in a rather bored tone and Gaara assumed that he was just going by the book.

"I don't see any reason to introduce myself since you basically just did it for me. As for something about myself..." Gaara sent a fierce gaze to everyone in the class. "Don't irritate me." And with that, he sat down. Looking back up at the teacher, Gaara noticed a slight upturn of his gray eye and assumed that he was smiling.

"Thank you, Gaara." Kakashi's voice now held a bit of amusement. Turning around, he began the lesson.

After a quick conversation with Naruto, Gaara found out that they shared every class together except for Spell Casting, Art, and Free Period. His next three classes went by in a blur and then it was lunch time. As Gaara was walking out the front doors, he ran into a tired looking Shikamaru. They exchanged silent greetings and began to walk in the same direction. When they arrived at their lunch spot they saw that Naruto, Choji, Akamaru, and Kiba were already settled down and eating. Shikamaru took a seat next to Choji, who handed him a small boxed lunch, and Gaara sat down in a small patch of shade. While most of the group enjoyed their lunches, Naruto seemed to notice that the little raccoon demon wasn't eating.

"Gaara?"

At hearing his name, the sand demon turned his attention to the blond. "What?" He asked. Judging by the look on the fox demon's face, Gaara had a feeling of what was coming.

"Why aren't you eating? Did you forget your lunch or something?" The concern in Naruto's voice was evident.

Trying not to look directly at his blonde friend, Gaara mumbled, "I'm not really hungry."

At hearing this, Lee's head jerked up. "BUT GAARA MY FRIEND! YOU ARE A GROWING YOUNG MAN AND YOU NEED TO EAT! Please, take some of my food!" The tree nymph held out what was left of his lunch to the raccoon demon, but Gaara just stared at the box lunch before shoving it back. "No thanks." He said quietly. Lee looked confused for a minute and it seemed like he was going to try again but Naruto cut him off.

"Do you _ever _eat lunch, Gaara?" The fox demon asked, slowly catching on.

The redhead was quiet for minute before shaking his head. "Why not?" Kiba asked, joining in on the conversation while at the same time laying down more food for Akamaru.

"Because I'm just not hungry." Gaara hissed. He was ready to drop the conversation and he wanted to drop it now.

"How aren't you hungry?!" Choji questioned, munching on a bag of chips. "It's no wonder you're so thin and grumpy! You're not eating enough food!"

Lee opened his mouth to say something but quickly shut it after a shake of the head from Naruto, who could tell that the sand demon was getting uncomfortable.

Taking the silence as a chance to change the subject, Gaara asked, "Why aren't there many girls in our lunch?" Honestly, he didn't really care. He just wanted his friends to forget about his lack of eating.

"Oh, that." Naruto said dejectedly. "Grandma Tsunade is worried about the students going off and doing something 'indecent' if a bunch of girls are in the same lunch as the boys. It's so stupid, though, because a lot of the guys here are _gay__!_"

Gaara's eyes widened slightly at this, ignoring the part about Grandma Tsunade, and he couldn't help but ask, "Really?" Naruto nodded and motion out to the beach. As the redhead looked around, he couldn't believe how he missed it before. In certain places, sitting or laying down, there were males holding hands, making out, you name it. He spotted one particular couple that was getting a little 'handsy' and Gaara had to quickly look away before a blush could rise to his cheeks.

Shifting slightly, the raccoon demon asked, "Do you...have anything against gays?" He was just curious.

Naruto looked at his friends who, after a moment, burst into fits of laughter, except for Shikamaru who was now napping. Gaara, not quite sure what was so funny, waited for their laughter to die before giving them all questionable looks. "What's so funny?"

Grinning, Naruto leaned back on his hands and exclaimed, "We'd be pretty hypocritical if we were homophobic! Because both me and Kiba _are _gay! And Lee's bisexual." Gaara stared at them in surprise, although his face was blank. But Naruto's face suddenly turned curious as he asked carefully, "Are _you_...gay, Gaara?"

The raccoon demon hesitated. Was he gay? To be honest, he had no clue. Gaara had never really been attracted to anyone before. All of his admirers in the past had been either terribly annoying or just unappealing to the eye. He did occasionally catch his eyes wandering over a few good looking males but he didn't think anything of it.

"I'm not really sure." Gaara mumbled, running a finger through the sand.

Naruto raised an blond eyebrow. "You don't know? Haven't you ever had a crush before?" Gaara shook his head and the fox demon's eyes widened.

"Why don't you find out?" Kiba asked, acting as if it was the most simple thing in the world. Naruto and Gaara both gave him incredulous looks.

"THAT'S A WONDERFUL IDEA, KIBA! We must help our dear friend learn the joy of gaining feelings for a significant other! We-"

"No." Gaara hissed forcefully. He wanted nothing to do with this. He didn't want to partake in something that would most certainly embarrass and humiliate him later. His friends thought differently.

"Ignore Lee." Naruto said with a large grin. "Me and Kiba can help you decide if you're gay or not and it won't even take five minutes!"

The raccoon demon gave him a skeptical look. "How?"

Grin still in place, the blond motion for Kiba to come over to him. Quickly catching on, Kiba laughed and crawled over to the fox demon. The hell hound gave a quick glance to Gaara and said, "Don't freak out and just watch us. Lee will watch your reaction and then give us some feedback." After a thumbs up from the tree nymph and a confused look from the redhead, Kiba leaned forward to plant a small kiss on Naruto's lips. Gaara's eyes widened comically as the two friends molded their lips together, the blond tilting Kiba's head to side for a different angle. The longer the two kissed, the redder the raccoon demon's face got. When two tongues became visible, lightly sliding against each other, Gaara's whole face started a competition with his hair. Only when it seemed that the redhead's face might burst into flames did Kiba and Naruto pull apart.

"Well?" Naruto asked, looking at the tree nymph. Lee had a huge smile on his face, almost reaching his ears.

"From what I could see, I think it is safe to say that our friend Gaara is bisexual! Possibly gay!"

With a grin, Naruto opened his mouth to say something only to let out a small yelp of pain instead. He brought up his right hand to inspect it and found a tiny red bite-mark marking the tan skin.

"What the-?" Everyone stared at the little mark in confusion until Kiba sucked in a sharp intake of breath. All eyes were on him as the hellhound slowly turned around. Gaara followed his line of vision and- Shit. All the members of the 'Asshole Table' were staring at them.

The expression on Shino's face was unreadable due to his high collar, glasses, and hood but hatred seemed to emanate from his whole body. Sasuke had a tight expression on his face and even from a distance it was obvious to tell that he was grinding his teeth together. Neji simply looked curious, staring pointedly at Gaara. As stated before, Gaara did not like being stared at. The sand demon glared and flipped them all off, causing a round of laughter to erupt from his friends while the 'Assholes' just seemed to grow more enraged.

Gaara then noticed that Kiba seemed a bit tense despite his laughter, sending worried glances to the more popular group of teens. Particularly at a certain insect charmer. He didn't say anything though, not wanting to bother the hell hound.

"What's their story anyways?" Gaara asked. He actually did want to know why those jerks thought they were better than everyone else. Naruto's face went from happy to annoyed in an instant.

"You mean those bastards? Tch. They're just your typical bunch of rich kids. Neji's uncle owns this huge business downtown and he's supposed to take over once his uncle retires. Sasuke-teme is just a part of a big, rich family, the Uchiha Clan. That, and he's a cursed demon, a type of demon that most people thought were extinct. Shino is a little different. His family is pretty wealthy but nothing like Neji or Sasuke's. The only reason he hangs out with them is because they've been friends for a long time and their parents are close. Now that I think about, aren't _you _the son of Suna's mayor?"

Now it was Gaara's turn to frown. "How did you know that?" He didn't want anyone to know of his connection with Suna's mayor, his so-called 'father'.

"Lee told me! He said that he'd talked to your sister and she said that you and your siblings were the mayor's children. So it's true?" Naruto's intentions were completely innocent but Gaara couldn't help but feel slightly bothered.

"Yes." The raccoon demon grumbled. "But I'm not rich. My _father _is rich."

"What do you mean?" Kiba asked, a curious expression on his face. When Gaara didn't respond, everyone exchanged worried glances.

His friends were nice, but Gaara had just met them the other day and he wasn't ready to tell his life story. Gaara was an isolated person, not even talking to his siblings about his problems. It would be awhile before he would feel comfortable talking about his issues with his new friends.

The raccoon demon was thankful when the bell rang for students to go to their next class. Choji, Naruto, and Shikamaru all stood up and after a quick goodbye they scurried off to whatever classes they had, leaving Gaara with Kiba and Lee. Carefully glancing over his shoulder, the redhead cursed when he saw that no one at the 'Asshole Table' had moved. Looking back at his friends, Gaara asked, "What do you do in Free Period?"

Smiling, Kiba crossed his arms behind his head and laid back. "Whatever you want! As long as you stay on campus, that is. Free Period is just something that the teachers thought up so the students can have some relaxation time." A class to do whatever he wanted? Gaara liked the sound of that. The raccoon demon stood up and slung his bag over his shoulder.

"Gaara, my friend! Where are you going? Are you not going to stay here with us?" Lee asked, wanting the redhead to stay.

"No. There's something I want to do." Before he could start walking, Gaara's pants leg was grabbed by Kiba.

"Hold on. I'm walking you." The hell hound stated as he rose from his spot on the sand. Gaara was about to refuse when Kiba glanced at something over his head. Turning around, the raccoon demon realized why Kiba wanted to walk him to his destination. Neji, Shino, and Sasuke were watching them intently.

Gaara, with Kiba's hand on his shoulder, began walking towards the school. "I don't need a bodyguard." He stated in a flat tone. The hell hound squeezed his shoulder and made sure not to look at the trio watching them.

"I know you don't. I'll just feel better if you don't go alone. I get the feeling that you can definitely handle yourself but...those guys are trouble. You stand up to them so, like us, you're a target." Kiba voice held a serious tone as the sand demon continued walking.

"If you're worried about that, then who's going to walk _you _back?" Gaara demanded.

Kiba chuckled. "Don't worry about that. I'll just go to the library and hang out there until school. "Where are we going anyways?"

Gaara pushed the doors of the educations building open and headed for the stairway. "The roof."

"The roof?" Kiba repeated, a curious expression on his face. "Why would you want to go there?"

The raccoon demon huffed in annoyance. Why did Kiba have to be so nosy? "I'm going there to draw."

"You draw?" The hell hound asked, smiling widely.

"Kiba."

"Yeah?"

"Shut up."

"...Okay."

They continued to travel up the stairs in silence until they reached the roof, where a ring tone suddenly started playing. Kiba gave a sheepish grin and pulled out his phone.

"Hello?" He asked once he'd flipped it open.

"MY YOUTHFUL FRIEND!" Lee's voice rang through the phone, loud enough for even Gaara to hear. "Have you reached your destination safely?"

Frowning slightly, Kiba replied, "Yeah, why?"

"Neji and his friends have left their table and are now heading towards the school!"

"Lee." The hell hound sighed. "Just because they left the table doesn't mean they're coming after us. Besides, they would have went after you first since you're the closest." Gaara was tempted to comment on how just minutes ago Kiba wouldn't let him travel alone for fear of being followed.

"BUT KIBA-"

"Bye Lee." Kiba sang before he hung up. Gaara raised an invisible eyebrow at him and the hell hound just shook his head. Kiba watched as Gaara walked over to the edge of the roof and sat down, pulling out a rather large sketchbook from his messenger bag. He also took out a small pencil kit and he then turned so he was facing the beach. The sand demon flipped to a blank page of his sketchbook and, without another word, began to draw.

"I'll just...go." Kiba said, realizing that the redhead wanted to be alone. Despite this, he stayed for just a few more minutes, watching the raccoon demon. Gaara was in his element; eyes focused intently on the paper in front of him, only looking away to glimpse at the beach. The redhead's hand moved in smooth, swift strokes, never missing a beat. Kiba was impressed with how focused the sand demon could be. Smiling, the hell hound left the roof and began making his way to the library.

After Kiba left, Gaara was able to relax a little. If there was one thing the raccoon demon loved to do, it was draw. Whenever he drew, the whole world would just melt away, only leaving behind him, a pencil, a piece of paper, and the object of his art. Gaara always felt at peace when his pencil glided across the page of his sketchbook. His creations always had a meaning. They depicted his life, emotions, interests, or thoughts. Gaara had no idea why he was good at art but he assumed that it ran in the family, since he supposedly had a cousin who was also gifted in the art. At the moment, Gaara was drawing an alternate version of the beach below him. One side of the beach was shaded darker than the other half, with black swirls running through the water and angry looking shadows stretching across the sand. On the other half of the beach, the sand was bright, almost glowing, and he drew the water in such a way that it seemed to sparkle. Gaara was particularly happy with what he sketched in the center of the paper, right between the light and dark side of the beach. Curled up in a little ball was a tiny raccoon, sleeping soundly. He was just beginning to work on the half moon half sun when he was interrupted.

"Hello, Gaara-kun." A silky voice purred; a voice that belonged to the devil himself.

Turning around, Gaara was greeted with the sight of very unwanted Hyuga. The raccoon demon glared but said nothing.

"There's no need to glare, Gaara-kun. I've just come by to ask you a question." Neji held a very pleasant smile that would surely make any girl swoon. Gaara wasn't a girl and he only saw that smile as mocking. Standing up, the redhead turned to his unwanted guest with his arms crossed.

"Then ask your question and leave. If you haven't noticed, your presence is unwanted here." Gaara stated bluntly.

Taking in the redhead's displeasure, Neji smirked and raised an elegant eyebrow. "I'm sure it is. Now, my question. Care to explain why Naruto and Kiba seem to have a sudden interest in each other?"

Gaara almost laughed. Almost. The 'Asshole Table' had apparently misinterpreted the kiss between his two friends and now thought that they had feelings for each other. But was Gaara going to correct them? Of course not.

"No." The raccoon demon stated, receiving a frown from the taller teen.

Crossing his arms and tilting his head to the side slightly, the sorcery demon spoke in an irritated voice, "Alright. Allow me to change that question into a demand. _Tell __me _why Naruto and Kiba were kissing." Neji's voice was forceful but it did not lose it's silky texture, and Gaara found himself slightly jealous; his voice would always be rough and dull.

"And I demand that you get out of my sight." Gaara hissed with an intense glare. With three graceful steps, Neji was standing in front of the redhead, an unsettling smile on his face.

"I'll leave once you have answered my question."

"Why do you want to know?"

"I don't. Shino and Sasuke do."

"Then why don't _they _ask?"

"They had other things to do."

"Then they can ask me later."

"If you'll tell them, then why won't you tell me?"

"Because you're not the one who wants to know."

Neji visible clenched his fist and an angry expression crossed his face. He leaned down so that his face was level with Gaara's and said in a tight voice, "You're beginning to irritate me, Gaara-kun. Tell me, what is it that you find so displeasing about me?"

Without missing a beat, Gaara muttered, "You're a selfish prick who thinks that the world revolves around you and that you deserves everything. You have everything handed to you in life by your family so you expect everyone else to do the same. You're smart and rich so you think that everyone show bow down to you and worship you as some kind of fucking king. And you think that you can have any companion that you want just because you're good looking and have a nice body. The girls that flock around you probably don't help your ego either. You need an attitude adjustment and you also need to be brought down a peg or two. And stop calling me Gaara-kun. It pisses me off."

Neji stared at the raccoon demon in shock, not expecting such a long rant from such a quiet creature. Then, a smug and evil smirk spread across his face and Gaara didn't like it at all.

"You think that I'm good looking and that I have a nice body, _Gaara__?_" The sorcery demon purred, raising his eyebrows.

Gaara froze and quickly replayed their conversation in his head. With horror, he realized that he had compliment the Hyuga, albeit unintentionally . A small blush tinted the redhead's cheeks and he opened his mouth to argue. He didn't get the chance.

"It's okay, Gaara. You're not the only person to be physically attracted to me. To be honest, I'm flattered."

The raccoon demon growled at this. "I'm _not _attracted to you. I was only stating a fact. You're head is already big enough so don't go making assumptions."

A sudden look entered the sorcery demon's eye and Gaara found himself wanting to turn and run. Neji leered at the little redhead and purred, "Would you like to find out exactly _how _big my head is?"

Huh? It took Gaara a minute before it clicked and now the raccoon demon really did blush. A glare took over Gaara's face and he slapped the other demon with enough force to make his head jerk to the side. Growling, Neji slowly raised his head back up, that same leer still evident in his pearly orbs. Fuck. Quickly, Gaara gathered his belongings and headed for the door that would take him back to the stairway.

"Oh Gaara." That sinfully smooth voice purred. The redhead stopped right in front of the doorway and glanced over his shoulder, tensing when he realized that Neji was right behind him. "It was a pleasure talking with you. Do watch your back, though. We wouldn't want anything unfortunate to happen, now would we?" The sorcery demon chuckled, petting Gaara on the head and then brushing past him, disappearing down the stairs.

What. The fuck. Was that?

Gaara had no clue. Although that last comment the sorcery demon had made was bothering him. Something unfortunate? Maybe Kiba's buddy-system idea wasn't so ridiculous after all.

**End ****of ****chapter**** 3! :****D**

**PLEASE ****REVIEW****!**


	4. DEMON COURTING RITUAL

**Hey ****guys****! ****This ****isn****'****t ****as ****much ****a ****chapter ****as ****it ****is ****information ****on ****the ****courting ****ritual ****of ****demons****, ****so ****PLEASE ****read ****it****! ****It****'****s ****very ****important ****for ****the ****up coming ****chapters****!**

DEMON COURTING RITUALS

(3 types)

Demon courting another demon

When a demon decides to court another demon, the rules are simple. The dominating demon must approach his/her desired submissive and request to court them. If the submissive demon refuses, then the dominant may not court them but they are still allowed to pursue the submissive and try to change their mind. If the submissive agrees, then the dominant must follow a set of courting guidelines.

1) The dominant must first pledge full loyalty to their submissives; protecting them and keeping them safe.

2) During the duration of the courting ritual, the dominant must present 3 gifts of their choosing to their submissive. The submissive must accept the gifts.

3) If the dominant wishes to kiss their submissive, the must have permission first and if they are denied then they must restrain themselves. Any other physical contact is allowed, but if the submissive objects then the dominant must immediately obey.

4) If another creature or demon decides to court the dominant's submissive, then there is to be a battle of strength at some point during the courting ritual. The loser must cease courting the submissive immediately.

5) The courting ritual is officially over when the submissive gives themselves to the dominant willingly in the act of sexual intercourse. If the dominant forces the submissive into sexual intercourse then the courting ritual will cease immediately.

Once the courting ritual is over, the submissive is official binded to the dominant and no other creature or demon is allowed to court him/her. The dominant is allowed to cease courting the submissive at any point during the ritual, but the submissive is not allowed to do this.

Creature courting a demon

If a non-demon creature wants to mate with a submissive demon then they must still go through with the courting ritual, no exceptions. All the rules still apply and the creature must follow them accordingly.

Demon courting a creature

If a dominant demon decides to mate with a creature, then they only have to go through with the courting ritual if they wish to do so.

DOMINANT DEMON FIGHTING

If two or more dominants are courting the same submissive, then they must hold a battle of strength to determine who is most suited to court the submissive. The fight must be fair; any cheating will result in immediate rejection of the one committing the act. The guidelines and location of the fight is to be determined by the submissive. If one a dominant refuses to fight, the he/she must cease courting the submissive.

MATING SEASON

(**VERY IMPORTANT**)

During the Mating Season, all courting is permitted and the submissive is not allowed to deny a dominant the privilege to court him/her. The Mating Season is a time for all dominants to have a chance at winning their desired submissive!

**If ****you ****have ****any ****other ****questions ****concerning ****the Demon ****Courting ****Ritual ****then ****please ****feel ****free ****to ****ask****. ****I ****should ****have ****the ****next ****chapter ****up ****by ****the ****end ****of ****tomorrow****! ;)**


	5. A Little Bundle of Joy and Cake

**Hello ****all ****and ****welcome ****to ****the**** 5****th ****chapter ****of ****Crimson ****Sands****! ****x****3**

**A ****HUGE ****thanks ****to ****everyone ****who ****reviewed****! ****I ****love ****you ****guys ****so ****much**

**I****'****m ****so ****excited ****about ****this ****chappy ****X****3 ****I ****get ****to ****introduce ****a ****special ****person ****into ****the ****story ****and ****I ****hope ****you****'****ll ****find ****the ****little ****guy ****to ****be ****lovable****! **

**ONWARD ****TO ****THE ****STORY****!**

Scratch! Scratch! Scratch!

Gaara groaned and pressed his face into his pillow, trying to ignore the pesterous sound that disrupted his sleep. He had now been attending Kamachi School for the Supernatural for a week, and he was currently in the middle of one of his Friday after-school naps. He had nothing planned today; no hanging out with friends, no clubs to attend, and all he wanted to do was nap in peace. It seemed as though he would not be allowed this simple pleasure.

Scratch! Scratch! Scratch!

The raccoon demon's eye twitched in annoyance as the irritable sound sound was somewhat familiar, but he was simply too tired to care. He quickly buried his head under his plush pillow, hoping to drown out the object of his unhappiness.

Scratch! Scratch! Scratch!

Fucking hell. MAKE IT STOP! Gaara hissed and dug his nails into the pillow, silently hoping that the blasted sound would cease and allow him to drift back into slumber. The redhead listened intently sighed in relief when the noise seemed to stop. After a minute, he was nearly submerged in sleep once more.

BANG!

Gaara jolted up in bed with a disgruntled snort when something seemed to slam into his door.

Scratch! Scratch! BANG!

Snarling in rage, Gaara scrambled out of bed and his legs became terribly tangled in his sheets. The raccoon demon's anger flared as he hit the ground and now he wanted nothing more than to kill whatever it was behind his door, keeping him from the precious rest he desperately needed because of his sleepless nights. As he tore the sheets away from his legs and stood up, Gaara tried to convince himself to calm down but only managed in riling himself up even further. Once he reached the source of the sound, he gripped the brass doorknob with a deathly force and threw open the door. The minute the door was cracked open, a small red blur shot past his feet and towards the sand demon's bed. Whirling around, Gaara resisted the urge to smile at the sight before him. Sitting tall on his bed was one of the very few things that the redhead held close to his heart; a young red raccoon.

"Ryo." Gaara murmured in surprise as he quickly shut the door and padded over to the furry creature. He dropped to his knees and came face to face with the raccoon. "What are you doing here? _How _did you get here?" Ryo gave no response besides a small yip. Taking a few tiny steps toward his human companion, the little raccoon rubbed his head against the bottom of Gaara's chin in a loving gesture. Now the redhead did allow a small smile.

When Gaara was young, around the age of ten, he went through a horrible depression and ran away from his father's house. The young raccoon demon had ended up in a cold alley, feeling worthless and unwanted. It hadn't even been two days when this little raccoon had appeared, bringing a small amount of joy to Gaara's life. The small creature had approached Gaara with caution, slinking up to him and sniffing his foot. After being sure that the young demon wouldn't harm him, the raccoon took a quick liking to him; following him around everywhere and keeping him warm at night. The sand demon gave Ryo his name and after that the little creature began to bring him food, usually a small loaf of bread or a piece of fruit. Despite being an animal, Ryo seemed to be able to comprehend human speech and often listened to the sand demon discuss his problems. After Gaara had been on the streets for a week, his father having made no attempts at finding him, it seemed that Ryo had had enough of the raccoon demon's suffering. Taking the young redhead's pant leg between his teeth, the tiny raccoon literally forced him to return home. How the little creature knew where he lived, Gaara would never know. After that, Ryo began to visit him about three times a week by crawling through his bedroom window, which Gaara was grateful for.

Gaara wrapped his arms around the raccoon in a small huge, stroking his soft fur. He had been sure that after he moved so far away that he would never see what he considered his best friend ever again. It was a mystery how this tiny red raccoon had traveled such a distance but Gaara certainly wasn't going to complain. Sitting down on his bed with Ryo still in his arms, Gaara began to describe the events that had been taking place while the little raccoon had been absent. When he got to the description of his friends, he thought about Kiba and Akamaru which caused an idea to form in his head.

Looking down at his animal companion, Gaara asked, "Ryo, if you could live here with me, would you?" Ryo stared at the redhead and gave a small flick of his tail, signaling his answer. He said yes. Gaara didn't smile but his eyes did brighten considerably. This little raccoon really was the thing that brought him happiness. He would have to be sure to ask Kiba about the school's rules towards pets, but of course, Ryo would be more of a roommate than a pet.

Jumping down from the sand demon's arms, Ryo sat down on his haunches and gave Gaara an expectant look.

"Oh, are you hungry?" The redhead asked, only able to understand the small creature from years of time spent together. Ryo gave a positive squeak, causing Gaara to grin. This little raccoon was the only one he would ever be so open with. He was just an animal, and yet Gaara could spend hours talking and playing with him. The red raccoon was also the only one to successful pull a real smile from the redhead. Gaara honestly wasn't sure why he liked the little raccoon so much. Maybe it was because he was so undoubtedly loyal and didn't talk. Ryo was also extremely smart. The little bundle of joy always seemed to know when Gaara was upset and he knew just the way to cheer him up.

Sighing, Gaara stood and went to grab some clothes from his closet. "Of course you'd make me go get food on a lazy day." The raccoon demon grumbled, putting on a pair of tattered jeans and a shirt that had been violated with multiple paints. The redhead slipped on his sneakers, ran a hand through his hair, and grabbed his messenger bag before turning to observe his furry friend. In the past, he'd made the mistake of letting Ryo ride atop his head whenever they went out, only to be subjected to swooning and adoration of many females. Such. Horrible. Memories.

Gaara opened the flap of his bag and motioned to the little raccoon. "Get in." He muttered. Ryo obeyed immediately, jumping into the bag and curling up inside of it once the flap had been set back down. Making sure he had his room key, Gaara exited the dormitory in search of a meal for his companion. He knew that the beach always had a few good vendors set up and decided that would do. In the past, Ryo seemed to take a liking to various meats, so Gaara decided to take him to one of the hot dog vendors.

As the raccoon demon took note of how brightly the sun shone today, he conjured a generous amount of sunscreen onto his skin. He just _had _to come out during the brightest time of the day. Ryo was lucky that the sand demon had a soft side for him.

Making his way towards the end of the beach where the vendors were set up, Gaara couldn't help but notice the looks he was being given. Looks that he was very familiar with whenever Ryo accompanied him somewhere. Girls were giggling and blushing whilst guys raised their eyebrows and amused grins spread across their faces. But wasn't Ryo in his bag? Looking down, Gaara nearly smacked himself in the face at his stupidity. He should have know that the sly creature wouldn't stay hidden. Ryo was currently sitting atop his bag, glancing around to take in his new surrounding and sniffing the air due to the scents of all the different creatures. Wanting a better view, the little raccoon crawled up Gaara's body and decided to set up camp in the teen's red locks. Gaara sighed, admitting defeat. He was always amazed at how such a little animal could cause such a huge change in people's demeanor towards him. All those curious or disgusted gazes turned into ones of amusement.

"You little vixen." Gaara muttered and crossed his arms, rolling his eyes up to just barely see the tip of Ryo's nose poking out from the top of his head. The red raccoon gave a squeak in response.

Gaara was making his way towards the hotdog vendor and was just about there when it happened. A very tall, handsome shade approached him, probably lured over by Ryo's natural charm and Gaara recognized him from the hallway. He wouldn't have been able to tell that the teenager was a shade if not for the small black wisps that surrounded him. The shade had bright purple eyes and snowy white hair. Gaara couldn't help but categorize this boy as 'strange'.

"Hi." The student spoke in a very low tone, a trait that was common in most shades. "I'm Suigetsu." The boy grinned, revealing a set of pointy teeth. His purple eyes trained on the sand demon's head. "I like your raccoon."

Gaara, recognizing the feeling of being stared at, glanced to the side and noticed the 'rebel' group watching them and he quickly realized that this boy must have come from there. Wondering if he'd actually be able to get along with the dark creature, he returned his gaze to Suigetsu.

"Thank you; his name is Ryo. I'm Gaara." The sand demon replied in a monotone voice, arms still crossed. Suigetsu didn't seem at all put off by the other teen's passive attitude and only smiled wider.

"Well it's nice to meet you Gaara. And you Ryo." The shade held out his hand, expecting Gaara to shake it. Instead of grasping the other's hand as expected, Gaara simply grunted in acknowledgment and kept his arms crossed. An uncomfortable silence quickly settled over the two while Suigetsu continued to smile like an idiot.

"So," The purple-eyed teen continued, dropping his hand. "what type of creature are you?"

The sand demon hesitated and pursed his lips. "I'm the One-Tailed Raccoon Demon." Gaara muttered, unsure of the way the shade would respond.

"Really? That's pretty awesome! Is that why Ryo likes you so much?" Suigetsu asked. Gaara blinked and had to pause for a moment. He'd actually never considered this before.

"I'm not sure." It was the truth and a contemplative expression took over his features.

Suigetsu snickered at the redheads look of confusion and stated, "Well he sure is lucky, having such a cute owner and all." He reached a hand up to pet the little raccoon, only to quickly draw back once he was hissed at.

Now Gaara was scowling in irritation and his blood boiled slightly. Had this guy just called him '_cute__'_? He was _not _cute!(Such a lie)

"I'm not cute." Gaara hissed, not afraid to voice his opinion. His glare was nothing short of demonic and he took pleasure in the sight of Suigetsu taking a step back. This guy was a pussy.

"Of course you are!" The shade stated boldly, raising his hands up in a defensive manner. "You have those adorable raccoon eyes and you're so tiny! You're the definition of cute!"

Snarling, Gaara decided that this conversation was over. Brushing past the annoying teen, he finally made it to the hotdog vendor. Suigetsu apparently had other ideas seeing as how he followed the redhead.

"Quit following me." Gaara demanded after he had placed an order. He made his way over to one of the umbrella shaded tables after he had received a plain hotdog and Ryo's tail brushed against the redhead's neck in anticipation of his meal. Much to the raccoon demon's displeasure, Suigetsu followed and sat down next to him.

"Can't do that." The annoying teen declared.

Gaara switched to ignoring the shade and cut the hotdog in half. Ryo hungrily began eating while the sand demon set down his silverware and began to peck at his portion of the hotdog like a bird. Suigetsu watched the smaller man eat and quickly became unhappy when he didn't receive a response.

"Aren't you going to ask w-"

"Not interested." The raccoon demon muttered, well aware of the other's intentions.

Frowning, Suigetsu leaned towards the sand demon and raised a white eyebrow. "Was I that obvious." Oh look, this guy was a dumbass, too!

"You don't even know me, yet you called me _cute__._" Gaara spat the last word in distaste. "That seems pretty obvious to me."

Not discouraged by this, the shade's grin returned. "Then I guess I should get straight to the point!" Reaching forward, he grasped the redhead's wrist and Gaara's anger spiked to a dangerous point. Oh _hell _no. "I would like to court you, Gaara." Suigetsu declared happily, oblivious to the redhead's rage.

Touching him. This asshole was _touching __him_. Unacceptable. Ryo studied the redhead, apparently knowing what was about to come.

A scream dripping with pain was wrenched from Suigetsu's lips and most of the beach turned to see what the commotion was about. The shade's hand was pinned to the wooden table by a metal fork, Gaara clutching the handle angrily. Suigetsu whimpered as blood began to pool around his hand and the fork was forced deeper into his skin.

"Like I said," Gaara snarled, eye twitching in annoyance. "Not. _Interested__._" He quickly threw away his trash and didn't even give the other teen a fleeting glance as he turned around, only to be met with the sight of a firm, pale chest.

"Hello, Gaara." A familiar voice purred. Stepping back, Gaara scowled at the demon before him, who was only clad in a pair of black swim trunks.

_Does __the __universe __fucking __hate __me __or __something__? _Gaara thought irritably as he looked up into the angry eyes of Neji Hyuga. ...Angry? Why the hell was he angry?

Neji looked over the sand demon's head and an obviously forced smile crossed his features. "Hello to you too, Suigetsu-san." He practically spat the shades name in disgust. The combination of his unhappy voice and strained grin was very unsettling, even to Gaara.

Suigetsu pried the fork from his hand with a grunt of pain and, pointing the bloodied utensil at Neji, gave the sorcery demon a look of pure hatred. "What the hell are you doing here, _Hyuga__?_" He hissed.

Gaara raised an nonexistent eyebrow and glanced between the two. Was he miss something?

"I just came over to make sure you weren't bothering Gaara. Me and my friends could sense his displeasure from down the beach." The sorcery demon stated smoothly, eyes flickering to the redhead for only a moment.

Once again, Gaara's temper flared. What was this asshole's problem? "Mind your own business, Hyuga." He muttered, irritation lacing his tone. Now Neji turned his full attention to the raccoon demon, that mocking smile appearing on his face, and Gaara seriously had to resist the urge to hit him.

"I'm only concerned for your wellbeing." Neji assured. "You seemed distressed so I came to lend you a hand."

Suigetsu and Gaara both glared at the sorcery demon and spoke in unison. "Bullshit."

Standing up, hand still dripping with blood, Suigetsu stalked up to the taller, more intimidating teen. "You're not wanted here, Hyuga. Hit the road!" He hissed, laying a hand on Gaara's shoulder. With an angered squeak, Ryo jumped from the sand demon's hair and dug his teeth into Suigetsu's arm. For the second time today, the shade howled in pain. The purple-eyed teen began flailing his arm, desperately trying to make the little raccoon release him. "Get it off!" Suigetsu snarled.

Worried that this idiot might hurt his best friend, Gaara reached forward and pried the little furball from Suigetsu's arm. "Good boy." He whispered into Ryo's ear, earning a small lick to the cheek in response. Neji watched the small exchange between the two and released a chuckle, causing two sets of eyes to glare at them.

"You think that's funny, bastard?!" Suigetsu growled, assuming that the sorcery demon was laughing at him. "Then you'll think it's hilarious when I kick your ass!" He took a step towards the pale-eyed teen who in turn didn't even move a muscle.

Gaara was about to comment on the stupidity of them fighting when all the hairs on the back of his head stood up. After a quick look around, Gaara realized with dread that almost all occupants of the beach were watching them. He just wasn't going to catch a break, was he? Deciding to put a stop to the upcoming fight, Gaara tugged at Suigetsu's sleeve.

"Don't start a fight you dumbass. You're drawing a crowd."

Suigetsu immediately obeyed despite his urge to hit the Hyuga and turned his attention to Gaara. "But what about this bastard?" He asked, pointing to a rather displeased Neji.

"Ignore him; he's not worth your breath."

"Hm. If I don't fight, will you let me court you?" Suigetsu asked cheekily, his toothy grin making a comeback. Gaara's eye twitched in annoyance but he _was_slightly amused by the shade's bluntness. His amusement rose even further after seeing the absolutely pissed off expression Neji gave the white haired teen.

"On second thought," The sand demon began as he turned around, internally smirking when he felt the hope radiating off of the shade. "Fight the bastard. Maybe you'll kill each other." A disbelieving sound left Suigetsu's throat while Neji released another amused chuckle. Gaara quickly began to take his leave when that low, silky voice stopped him.

"That's not very nice, Gaara. I'm sure you would miss me very much if I died." Neji purred, brushing some of his hair behind his shoulder. Gaara watch as those silky brown strands of hair glided over the sorcery demon's neck and arm as if they were water cascading down a beautiful cliff; the cliff being a very firm and pale set of muscles. Gaara blamed his artistic side for having noticed this. Neji, not at all oblivious to the redhead's attentive gaze, raised a delicate eyebrow and a lecherous smirk adorned his face. Realizing his mistake, the sand demon's face quickly took on a rather pissed off look.

"I'd miss you just about as much as I'd miss _him__._" Gaara growled, pointing to Suigetsu. The shade gaped at this statement and crossed his arms.

"What did I do?!" The purple-eyed teen demanded.

Gaara was about to point out how annoying the shade was when Neji beat him to it. "He obviously finds your presence to be quite irritating." The Hyuga stated, amusement in his voice. "Perhaps you should leave." The way he said this made it quite obvious that it wasn't a suggestion. It was a demand. Not getting the hint, Suigetsu growled at the sorcery demon and approached him again.

"I was here first! If anyone should leave, it's you! Gaara doesn't want you here!"

"Actually, it was you who asked that I leave. Gaara has yet to make such a request."

"Well he hasn't told _me _to leave either!"

"Yes, but _I _did."

"So? Who made you king of the beach?"

"No one. It's a given."

Gaara actually gave an amused snort at that comment, something that didn't go unnoticed by the sorcery demon. Gaara quickly covered up his amusement with a glare.

"You two can stay and bicker like idiots. I'm leaving." He muttered. He'd only taken three steps when his shoulder was grabbed. Gaara fully expected Ryo to go into another fit, but the little raccoon gave no reaction besides a slight twitch of his tail.

"Actually, Gaara, I'd like to speak with you a moment." Neji purred into the redhead's ear. Frowning, Gaara smacked away the offending hand and continued walking. Strangely enough, Neji let him go without another word. The same thing couldn't be said for the sorcery demon's eyes. As he walked away, Gaara could feel those pale eyes devouring his whole body. The asshole was probably just pissed and was hoping that a boulder would fall on his head.

"Bye, Gaara!" Suigetsu yelled, much to the redhead's annoyance. "I'll see you tomorrow!"

Gaara doubted that, seeing as how tomorrow was Saturday. Although, with the shade's persistent attitude so far, they probably _would _run into each other. Whoop-de-fucking-doo.

Realizing he wouldn't be sleeping any more today, Gaara decided to go see a certain blond idiot and a go-happy dog lover.

* * *

Naruto groaned in frustration for about the sixth time today. Him and Kiba, with Akamaru lying at the hellhound's feet, were hanging out at a cafe that they spend a large portion of their time at. The cafe had amazing food, the sweet that you could buy were to die for, and not many people from their school ever came here.

"I wish Gaara was here." The fox demon muttered, laying his chin on the table they were seated at. Naruto had invited his redheaded friend to the cafe and was highly disappointed when he'd gotten a blunt 'no' in response. Gaara was quickly becoming one of his best friends, despite his grumpy personality, and Naruto wanted nothing more than to spend time with him.

"I do too man, but he said he was tired and needed a nap." Kiba provided, trying to reason with his downcast friend.

"I know," Naruto sighed, looking up at the dog lover. "I just wish he'd spend more time with us. He always seems so quiet."

Kiba laughed and took a quick sip of the water he'd ordered. "Well, Gaara's a quiet person! That's what makes him unique in our group, right?" The hellhound joked, smiling when Naruto finally produced a full-hearted chuckled.

"I guess you're right." The fox demon admitted and finally took a drink of his coffee. "It's kind of strange having a silent person in the group. Well, Shikamaru is quiet but that's just because he's sleeping."

Kiba leaned forward on his elbows, a contemplative look on his face. "Speaking of strange, have you noticed how _they _have been acting lately?"

"Yeah, I have." Naruto stated with a frown. "It's weird. I can't really describe it but they've just been acting differently. Sasuke-teme keeps freaking _staring _at me! The bastard! I caught him doing it during Weapons Training and told him to knock it off! You know what he did? He 'hn'ed me. That _asshole__ '__hn__'_ed me! He usually says something like 'Shut up, dobe' or 'So damn noisy'. And when I started to give him a piece of my mind, Asuma-sensei yelled at me for not paying attention!"

Kiba couldn't help but laugh as the blonde continued his angry rant. The smallest thing could make Naruto flip his lid!

"I understand." Kiba stated while the fox demon caught his breath. "Shino actually scared me the other day." The hellhound looked down at his hand with a worried frown and even Akamaru produced a concerned whine.

"He _scared _you?!" Naruto growled, not at all happy about the concept of his best friend being harassed. "Kiba, what did he do?"

Kiba continued to look at his hands as he mulled over his argument with the bug charmer. Finally, he looked up at his companion and spoke slowly. "It was so weird. We've had a lot of arguments in the past and all Shino ever does is stand there. This time, though,...he reacted. I called him an insensitive asshole and he-" Kiba frowned, thinking back on the event.

"What did he do?" Naruto encouraged, curious about what would cause the hellhound to hesitate.

Kiba swallowed and muttered, "He _growled _at me. Like, a _predatory _growl. And then he backed me into the wall and demanded that I take it back! I just about pissed myself. I've never seen Shino that angry..."

Naruto tapped his chin as an evil grin formed on his face. "You mean you've never seen Shino that angry _at __you__._" The fox demon teased. Kiba's face lit up like a Christmas tree and he then threw a couple of wadded up napkins at the blonde.

"Idiot!" Kiba hissed, cheeks still a delicate pink. "I already told you that it's not like that! I hate Shino!"

"Of _course _you do." Naruto purred, a cheeky grin on his face.

Kiba opened his mouth to argue when the tiny bell above the door rang, drawing his attention. "Gaara!" He chirped happily at the sight of the redhead entering the cafe. Naruto quickly turned around and his face broke out into a dazzling smile.

"I thought you weren't comi- Oh! Who's that?" Naruto's eyes brightened at the sight of the little raccoon perched atop Gaara's head. The sand demon sat down at one of the spare seats and took Ryo off his head.

"This is Ryo." Gaara stated, setting the little raccoon down on the table. Ryo scurried over to Naruto and leaned forward to sniff at the kind blonde. The fox demon had to actually resist squealing at how cute the little creature was. Turning to Kiba, Gaara presented the question that he'd been dying to ask. "Are normal animals allowed at the school?"

"Of course! A lot of animals are used as fighting companions. Right, Akamaru?" Kiba's faithful companion barked happily and Ryo disappeared under the table to apparently make friends. Gaara nodded and then found himself being dragged from his seat.

"You gotta try the cake here, Gaara! It's amazing!" Naruto proclaimed as he pulled the raccoon demon up the counter. Gaara frowned at the concept of eating but didn't resist. A rather unhappy looking cashier stared at them and asked what they wanted. Naruto happily asked for two pieces of chocolate cake.

"We're all out." The cashier stated bluntly as he leaned against the counter.

Frowning, Naruto asked, "Well what else do you have?"

The cashier scowled and pointed to the menu above him before stating rather rudely, "Anything on the _menu__._" Gaara did not like this jerk. Not. One. Bit. Naruto then requested two slices of strawberry mousse cake and the cashier released an irritated sigh before disappearing into the kitchen. Gaara quickly made the decision to fuck with this guys head once he returned.

Once the cashier came back, Naruto paid the man and was surprised when Gaara didn't follow him to the table.

Looking up from the cash register, the man asked, "Can I help you with something or are you just going to stand there?"

A dead serious expression took place on the raccoon demon's face and the cashier visibly stiffened. Crossing his arms, Gaara stately in a flat, deadly voice, "I'd like a diet water."A look of utter confusion passed the cashier's face and Gaara could just barely hear the sound of faint snickering behind him.

"I'm sorry?" The man asked, thinking he'd heard wrong.

"I _said _I'd like a diet water." Gaara hissed impatiently, glaring at the cashier. The man was obviously at a loss for words. "Oh wait let me guess, you're all out, right?" The sand snarled, throwing the cashier's words back at him. Unsure of what to say, the cashier slowly nodded his head up in down.

"Hm. Maybe if you kept things in stock, you'd have more business. Dumbass." Gaara stated before turning around and returning to the table, ignoring the sound of indignation that came from the cashier. As he sat back down, his two friends burst out laughing.

"That was hilarious, Gaara!" Naruto proclaimed as scooted a piece of cake towards the redhead. Kiba nodded his head in agreement, a huge grin on his face. Although the next thing Gaara knew, both of them had serious expressions on their face.

Leaning towards the raccoon demon, the two friends spoke in unison. "Eat."

Damn it. Gaara stared down at the beautifully prepared piece of cake. Despite not wanting to eat, he had to admit that the dessert looked positively mouth watering. Gaara realized that his friends probably wouldn't let him leave until he at least tried the cake and he sighed internally, accepting his doom. Naruto and Kiba watching intently as the redhead scooped up a small portion of the cake and brought it to his mouth. Deciding not to delay the inevitable, Gaara shoved the piece of cake into his mouth and chewed quickly.

_Oh __my __God__. _Gaara thought as his chewing suddenly stopped. His friends watched in amusement as his face slowly formed into an expression of surprise. The cake was fucking delicious! Gaara wasn't fond of sweet things, besides cupcakes, but this cake was like getting high off of chocolate and strawberries floating in pond of sweet icing. The sand demon swallowed the sinful treat in his mouth and quickly went back for more.

"Glad you like it." Kiba laughed. Seeing their thin friend eating brought more happiness to Naruto and Kiba then thought possible.

Gaara continued to devour the delectable dessert until only crumbs remained on the plate. He would definitely have to order that again the next time he came to the cafe.

"Hey, Gaara?" The raccoon demon looked up at his whisker cheeked friend. A bright smiled took over Naruto's features. "Thanks for coming."

It was not the first time Gaara had to resist the urge to smile back at the fox demon.

**End ****of ****chapter**** 5~ ****x****3**

**Are ****you ****guys ****curious ****about ****Sasuke ****and ****Shino****'****s ****actions****? ****Think ****back~ ****think ****back****~ *****giggles***** **

**PLEASE ****REVIEW****!**


	6. Pack Hounds and Revenge to Come

**Hai ****gais~**

**I****'****m ****so ****glad ****that ****you ****all ****liked ****Ryo****! :'****D ****He****'****s ****Gaara****'****s ****little ****bundle ****of ****joy~**

**Thanks ****to ****everyone ****who ****reviewed ****and ****I****'****d ****like ****to ****especially ****thank **_**xytera **_**for ****their ****amazing ****feedback****!**

**We****'****re ****gonna ****jump ****right ****into ****the ****action~**

"I'm dying." Naruto muttered, face buried in a beach towel.

"It's not the end of the world." Gaara stated bluntly, turning a page of the book he was currently reading. Ryo was sitting comfortably on his shoulder, reading along with him. Naruto groaned and rolled over onto his back, giving the sand demon a look of despair.

"But it is! Those bastards took our spot!" The fox demon groaned, hitting the sand with his fist. Their whole group was currently sitting at the beach, but they were not in their usual spot. The place they _should _have been sitting at was being occupied by a large group of girls. And those girls were, of course, surrounding the 'Assholes'. Neji, Sasuke, and Shino had chosen today to sit a little further down the beach, and the perimeter of the girls who followed them forced Naruto, Kiba, Gaara, Lee, Shikamaru, and Choji to flee from their favorite spot.

"It isn't our spot, Naruto." Shikamaru sighed, unable to fall asleep because of the fox demon's whining.

Naruto sat up with a scowl and crossed his arms rather childishly. "It might as well be! We sit there _everyday_! Why did they even move?! They were sitting in their usual spot during lunch!"

"Come on, Naruto. You _know _they're probably just trying to make us mad." Kiba supplied. It wouldn't surprise anyone if the trio of evil would stoop so low as to steal their spot just to piss them off.

Naruto buried his face in his towel once more and groaned loudly. "Well then they're doing a pretty good job at it! Those jerks piss me off!"

Gaara sighed in irritation and slammed his book shut, unable to concentrate. "If you're that upset about it, then why don't you go over there and tell them to move?" He glared at his blonde friend, telling him to do just that or shut up about it.

"Are you crazy?!" Naruto asked, looking at Gaara as if he'd grown a second head. "You'd have to be suicidal to do that! I mean, you'd have to get through those psychopathic girls!" He pointed at the swarm of love struck girls surrounding Neji and his gang.

Gaara turned his attention to the many fans and frowned. He just couldn't understand why they were so obsessed with those creeps, especially since they had no chance at wooing the three handsome creatures. Gaara was just about to look away when a flurry of movement caught his eye. Near that back of the group of girls was a petite elf who had just been pushed down by another creature, and the sand demon watched in disgust as others began to _step_ on the elf to try and push closer to the front. What really pissed Gaara off was the fact that no one even tried to assist the fallen elf. Gaara was not a helpful person, but the thought of how it was basically the 'Assholes'' fault that the small creature was being trampled upon began to fuel his anger. Standing up, the raccoon demon put Ryo down and began to stalk towards the swarm of girl while he blatantly ignored the protests of his friends. As he approached, the girls in the back grew silence and some even released a few quiet gasps. Gaara began to furiously shove aside any female that was in his way until he reached the elf girl, who looked up at him in shock. Gaara frowned at her and held out his hand, releasing a huff of annoyance when she continued to stare at him like an idiot.

"Get up." He muttered. The girl's eyes widened before she slowly reached out her hand and grasped the sand demon's. Gaara, being a lot stronger than he looked, pulled the elf from the ground with little to no effort.

"Um, thank you...uh..."

"Gaara." The raccoon demon supplied flatly. It was then that he realized everyone had grown silence and was watching him. Fucking joy.

"Thank you, Gaara-kun. Um, I'm Kin." The elf girl said with a smile, but Gaara couldn't care less. He helped Kin out of anger not kindness, despite how ridiculous that sounded. He quickly turned his attention to the three bastards responsible for the incident.

"Hey assholes." Gaara hissed, earning a lot of heated glares from the admiring girls. Neji, being the jerk that he is, smirked and raised a curious eyebrow at the redhead. "Control your pack hounds before someone gets hurt." That earned a whole collage of shouting and screaming; all of it directed at him. Much to Gaara's displeasure, Neji actually seemed _amused _by his comment.

"My apologies, Gaa-"

"Don't apologize to _me__!_" Gaara hissed. He jabbed a finger in Kin's direction. "Apologize to _her__._" Neji looked slightly taken aback by the raccoon demon's forceful tone but the infuriating smirk was still there.

"Alright then. Please accept my apology, Kin-chan." Neji said, giving the elf girl a dazzling smile. Gaara's rage peaked when Kin began stuttering and saying how it was no big deal and that it was her fault. The girl had been _trampled__! _How was she not furious?! With a huff, Gaara turned and began making his way back to his friends.

"Gaara." Neji's low, commanding voice made the sand demon stop in his tracks. Gaara turned around slowly and gave the sorcery demon a glare that could have belonged to the devil himself.

"What?" He hissed, wanting nothing more than to wipe that narcissistic smirk off of Neji's face.

Neji stood from his beach towel and approached the redhead, an odd glint in his eye. He placed a hand on Gaara's shoulder and leaned down until his mouth was pressed to the sand demon's ear. Unfortunately for Gaara, that was one of the most sensitive places on his body, and he couldn't suppress the small shiver that traveled down his spine as warm patches of breath beat against his skin.

"As I have stated before," Neji whispered so that no one else could hear him. "I need to speak with you. Although I don't think now would be a good time, hmm? I think a more _private _location would be better suited for our conversation."

Gaara opened his mouth to retort but froze as something warm and wet pressed against his ear. Holy shit. Did Neji just..._lick _him?! Startled by the sudden action, Gaara's instincts kicked in and he did the only thing that came to mind. He drew back his arm and punched Neji clean in the face; his nose more precisely. A few girls screamed as blood spewed from the Hyuga's nose, and Sasuke and Shino quickly rose from their sitting positions in case they needed to interfer. Naruto and Lee were at the redhead's side in an instant, pulling him away from the bleeding sorcery demon.

Neji's head had been the only thing that moved, snapping to the side from the momentum of the punch, and Gaara tensed slightly as the pale-eyed man slowly raised his head. The look in the Hyuga's eyes could only be described as predatory with a dash of anger mixed in. The gaze seemed to bore into him very existence and Gaara felt rooted to the spot, unable to look away from those hypnotizing pale orbs.

"Are you okay, Gaara?" Naruto whispered, worried that his friend might be hurt.

Gaara, not looking away from Neji's intense gaze, said quietly, "I'm fine." He most certainly was _not_fine. Something was off about the look Neji was giving him. It seemed to hold confidence and victory. What did he have to be victorious about? It was when a girl worriedly handed the Hyuga a tissue that it him.

_He __wanted __me __to __attack __him__._ Gaara thought sourly. That asshole. Neji had secretly provoked Gaara so that it would look like he hit him without reason. And Gaara had fell for it like an idiot. The raccoon demon inwardly seethed as Naruto and Lee began dragging him back to their spot.

_He __tricked __me __and __made __a __fool __out __of __me__. _Gaara seethed at this thought. That Hyuga asshole was going to _pay_.

The minute that Gaara sat down, he was startled out of his anger by Lee's booming voice.

"GAARA MY YOUTHFUL FRIEND! I am utterly impressed with your kindness towards that young lady, and the way you stood up to Hyuga-san was simply _astounding_! IT WARMS MY HEART TO KNOW YOU POSSESS SUCH A YOUTHFUL AND PURE SPIRIT! PLEASE ALLOW ME TO SHOW MY PRAISE BY MEETING YOU IN A YOUTHFUL EMBRACE! " Lee proclaimed loudly and moved in to give the raccoon demon a hug. Gaara hissed as he placed one hand on the tree nymphs face and the other on his chest to keep him away.

"Knock it off before I feed you to Ryo." Gaara snarled, pushing Lee away. Ryo squeaked at the idea of eating the annoying nymph and curled up in the sand demon's lap.

Naruto chuckled as he sat down and handed the sand demon a tissue from his bag.

"You might need this." The blonde said, motioning to Gaara's hand. Sure enough there was a generous amount of blood painting his hand.

Gaara accepted the soft paper and wiped away the Hyuga's blood from his knuckle, but he didn't throw it away afterwards. Gaara stared at the tissue. A demon's power is determined by the type of blood they have and Gaara nearly passed out when he sniffed the red substance. The Hyuga's blood emitted such a strong aura of destructive power that Gaara choked and dropped the tissue.

"Gaara!" Naruto cried, watching his friend cough and throw the tissue away from him. "Are you okay?!"

Gaara nodded stiffly and rubbed his nose. While the scent of Neji's blood was powerful, it also smelt amazingly _sweet_, and Gaara found his cheeks heating up slightly as the smell refused to leave his nose. Neji was definitely _a __lot _stronger than Gaara. The tailed beasts might be the strongest creatures to live, but if they weren't trained properly then they were only as strong as a weak demon.

"I'm fine." Gaara hissed.

Naruto, sensing the raccoon demon's irritation, kindly suggested, "Hey, Gaara. How about we ditch this place and go to Gichi?"

Gaara gave the blonde a curious expression. "Gichi?"

"Yeah! The cafe we were at a couple of days ago!"

At the mention of the cafe, Gaara's eyes immediately lit up even though his face remained expressionless. The thought of that delicious, creamy, fluffy, sweet strawberry mousse cake nearly made Gaara drool. Consider the 'Assholes' forgot. The raccoon demon slowly stood up, trying not to let his excitement show, and began gathering his things, making sure to put Ryo on shoulder during the process. Naruto, Kiba, Lee, and Choji all smiled at each other. They gathered up their stuff and woke Shikamaru before leaving the beach.

* * *

Gaara sighed in delight as he swallowed another piece of his cake and dove back in for another. Everyone, even Shikamaru, watched in amusement as the thin redhead devoured the dessert. They couldn't help but find the raccoon demon adorable from the childlike way in which he enjoyed the cake. No one voiced these thoughts, though. It would probably get them all castrated if they actually said anything.

"So, Gaara," Kiba began, resting his chin in his hand. "Is Suigetsu still trying to court you?"

Gaara frowned at the question and put down his fork. He closed his eyes and muttered, "Unfortunately. He's like a cockroach that just won't die." Naruto snorted in amusement at this and nudged the sand demon.

"You have to give him credit for his persistence." Naruto joked. "_And _for balls."

Gaara shoved another piece of cake into his mouth to keep from chuckling. Suigetsu really did have balls if he was continuously asking to court _him__._

"Are you even a submissive, Gaara?" Shikamaru asked, slouched down in his chair. "You don't really act like one.

Gaara thought about this as he chewed on another piece of his cake. He swallowed and muttered, "I guess so. I've never had the urge to court someone else, so I guess that makes me a submissive. What about you?" Gaara glanced at Shikamaru, Naruto, and Kiba, curious about their positions.

Shikamaru sighed and said, "Well I'm not gay, so that automatically makes me a dominant."

Kiba bowed his head and blushed slightly as he muttered, "I'm a submissive. I just can't see myself as a dominant."

Everyone turned to Naruto, who had a huge grin on his face.

"Well?" Gaara asked impatiently.

The fox demon laughed and leaned back in his seat. "I'm both! It all depends on who's interested in me or who I'm interested in!" Naruto continued grinning and seemed absolutely positive in his answer. Leave it to a certain sand demon to make him question himself.

"So you're a submissive then." Gaara stated, earning a few curious glances from his friends.

Naruto narrowed his eyes, leaned towards the raccoon demon, and asked, "What do mean?"

Gaara ate another piece of his cake before calmly stating, "Well, you're interested in Sasuke, who's obviously a dominant. That makes you a submissive."

Naruto's eyes widened and he began sputtering, unable to comprehend what the redhead just said. Everyone laughed, knowing Gaara to be the only one blunt enough to actually point out Naruto's obvious feeling. Though, they weren't obvious to Naruto.

Naruto's scarred cheeks were a light shade of red as he yelled, "How did you even come to that conclusion?! I don't like that bastard! Sasuke-teme is a jerk and he...he's not even that good looking!" Gaara raised an invisible eyebrow at the fox demon's hesitation at insulting Sasuke's looks. Naruto was such a bad liar.

"What would you do if he asked to court you?"

"Eh?" Naruto's face dropped.

"Did I stutter?" Gaara stared into the fox demon's eyes, expression serious. Naruto slammed his hands against the table and stood up.

"I'd say _no_ of course! Actually, I'd say _HELL __NO__!_ That asshole doesn't _deserve _to be my mate!" Naruto hissed. "And besides, he would never try to court me! Sasuke _hates _me! He-"

"Do you know that for sure?" Gaara interrupted, giving the blonde another dead serious look.

"What?"

"I said, are you sure Sasuke hates you?"

Naruto pursed his lips. "Yes."

"What makes you think that?" Gaara knew that the only way to get the fox demon to talk would be by using persistence. Also, it was rather amusing to watch the usually happy blonde get pissed off. Gaara was just messed up like that.

"You've seen the way he treats me! I'm nothing but poor trash to him!" Naruto hissed, a lump forming in his throat.

"And how do you feel about _him_?" Gaara knew he was pushing too much but he continued on anyways.

"I HATE HIM!" Naruto dug his nails into the table as a set of orange fox ears sprouted from his head and three fox tails grew out from just above his waist line. "NO IFS, ANDS, OR BUTS ABOUT IT! I _HATE _THAT NARCASSISTIC, SMART-ASS, DUCK-ASS HAIRED BASTARD!" He angrily grabbed his bag and stormed out the cafe doors without another word. Kiba frowned and looked at Gaara.

"Why'd you make him so angry?" The hellhound inquired. Surely Gaara had a reason for pissing of the fox demon.

Gaara ate the final piece of his cake and took a long drink from his water before stating, "I wanted to see what he looked like with his animalistic features." He put Ryo in his lap and began to stroke his fur as everyone gazed at him with disbelieving expressions. Even Choji stopped eating to stare at him.

"You're joking, right?" Shikamaru asked in a disbelieving tone. Gaara shook his head and Kiba burst out laughing.

"Oh wow!" Kiba forced out through fits of laughter. "You realize I'm going to have to tell him about this, right?"

"Of course." Gaara said. He had no problem that Naruto would know his prying was just a scheme to get his animal feature to appear. It's not like he'd ca-

"And you also realize he's going to try and get revenge, right?" Kiba chuckled. That caused Gaara to pause and give the hellhound a curious stare.

"What do you mean?" The raccoon demon asked. Naruto and revenge did not go well together in a sentence. Actually, Naruto and the _aspect _of revenge didn't go together. Just the thought made Gaara want to throw up.

Kiba smiled and crossed his arms. "What I mean is that Naruto is going to be relentlessly trying to get _your _animalistic features to come out. He'll do anything to set you off. And trust me, Naruto _always _gets his revenge."

Gaara wouldn't doubt it. Naruto, while being a happy and relaxed demon, was also easily motivated, and when he had a goal, he would do anything to reach it. The fox demon could also be highly annoying and he seemed to have a talent for provoking people. In other words, Gaara was screwed. He absolutely did not want his friends, or anyone else for that matter, to see his animalistic features. It wasn't that they were ugly or weird; quite the opposite really. They made him look _cute__._ Gaara hated to admit it, but one day when he'd been terribly angry with his father and his animal features had come out, he'd looked in the mirror and found himself to appear absolutely _adorable_. It made him sick to the point where he actually buried himself under his blankets and hid from the world until he was normal again after about an hour.

Gaara placed Ryo on top of his head and slung his messenger bag over his shoulder.

"Gaara, my youthful, red headed friend!" Lee shouted, much to Gaara's annoyance. "Where are you going? Are you not going to stay and enjoy the amazing conversations that will undoubtedly strengthen our friendship?!"

Gaara kept his expression neutral as he muttered, "I'm going to hide from the annoying wrath of Naruto." He looked at Kiba. "So feel free to go ahead and tell him." He turned around and headed for the door.

"Will do!" Kiba laughed, waving at him.

Gaara wouldn't stand a chance. Especially against a revenge driven Naruto.

**End**** of ****chapter**** 6~**

**For ****those ****of ****you ****who ****don****'****t ****remember****, ****Kin ****is ****an ****actual ****character ****from ****Naruto****. ****She ****fought ****Shikamaru ****in ****the ****Preliminary ****Chuunin ****Exams ****and ****lost****! ****Just ****a ****little ****fun ****thing ****I ****decided ****to ****add ****into ****the ****story****~ ;)**

**I ****know ****it****'****s ****a ****lot ****shorter ****than ****my ****last ****chapter ****but ****don****'****t ****worry****, ****I****'****ll ****be ****sure ****to ****make ****the ****next ****chapter ****a ****lot ****longer ****for ****you ****guys~**

**PLEASE ****REVIEW****!**


	7. Of Ears and A Tail

**Hey ****guys ****and ****welcome ****back****!**

**So ****sorry ****I ****haven****'****t ****updated ****in ****awhile****! ****D****: ****Don****'****t ****hate ****me****!**

**I****'****ve ****been ****super ****busy ****with ****a ****bunch ****of ****crap ****and ****it****'****s ****just ****been ****eating****. ****My****. ****Life****. ****Away****.**

**I ****also ****went ****through ****a ****massive ****depression ****and ****then ****I ****got ****sick ****to ****where ****I ****slept ****all ****day****, ****couldn****'****t ****eat ****a ****thing****, ****and ****it ****felt ****like ****someone ****was ****ripping ****out ****my ****organs****! D:**

**And ****I****'****m ****so ****sorry ****if ****this ****chapter ****doesn****'****t ****seem ****as ****good ****as ****the ****others****! ****I****'****m ****suffering ****from ****just ****a ****bit ****of ****writer's ****block ****but ****I****'****m ****pushing ****through****!**

**Thanks ****so ****much ****to ****everyone ****who ****reviewed****~ -****blows ****you ****all ****kisses****-**

**Now****, ****lets ****get ****this ****thing ****rolling****!**

Revenge. That has been the thing on Gaara's mind for the past week. For seven days straight, he'd been constantly on the lookout for any traps that a certain blonde idiot may have set out. He'd also been carefully thinking of how he was going to extract his own revenge on a particular pale eyed bastard. Naruto, however, was the most concerning of the two. Gaara, having almost the exact opposite mindset of the fox demon, had no idea what the blonde was planning.

Whenever they ran into each other or hung out, Naruto seemed perfectly normal. At times, though, Gaara caught glimpses of a strange look in his eye. A look that made Gaara want to lock himself in his room.

Which was exactly what he was doing at the moment. The raccoon demon was currently sitting on his bed, having a conversation with Ryo. They were busy discussing the topic of Naruto's revenge; Gaara would talk about this only with Ryo.

"What do you think he'll do?" Gaara muttered, leaning back against the headboard.

Ryo released a small squeak and tilted his head to the side.

"I doubt he would do that. He wants my animalistic features to show. He doesn't want to kill me."

A few somewhat annoyed squeaks followed by more persistent one.

"He's too stupid to think of something like that."

Ryo sat back on his hind legs and stared at Gaara. He let out a few quiet squeaks.

"You're a sick little bastard."

Squeak!

"Sorry."

Ryo made a small rumbling sound in the back of his throat, close to a growl, and stood up. He lept off the bed before padding over to the door to paw at it.

Gaara sighed and leaned his head to the side. "Do we have to go for a walk _now__?_"

An angry glare from the little raccoon gave him his answer. Ryo no longer had the desire to discuss anything with the redhead when he was being insulted.

Sighing, Gaara rose from the bed, picked up his messenger bag and slung it over his shoulder. He opened the door and followed Ryo out into the hallway.

"HEY GAARA!"

Gaara let out a surprised squeak, not that he would admit it, as he threw himself against the wall. The shout next to his ear had startled him so much that small claws had sprouted from his fingertips and dug into the wall. Turning his head slowly, Gaara was met with the sight of an evil-looking Naruto. Well, fuck.

"Sorry about that. Did I scare you?" The fox demon asked with a shit-eating grin.

Wrenching his nails out of the wall, Gaara glared at his friend. "No." He muttered. The raccoon demon's frown deepened as a slight pressure made itself evident in the back of his skull. The last thing he needed today was a migraine.

Naruto shrugged his shoulders, grin still in place. "Alright. So, Gaara," He threw an arm over the sand demon's shoulder. "Wanna go grab something to eat? Just you and me? We can go to that cafe you like!" A chill went down Gaara's spine at this request. There was definitely something off about the fox demon's tone. It was still friendly and loud, but it had an underlying tone that Gaara just couldn't name. The part about the cafe was tempting, but...

"No." Gaara grumbled, smacking the blonde's arm off of him. He turned around and made for the stairwell.

"What? Why not?!" Naruto demanded as he followed his redheaded friend.

Gaara pursed his lips and ignored him as he pushed open the door to the stairwell. As he began his descent, he refused to even look at Naruto.

"Come on, Gaara! I'll buy you a piece of that cake you like!"

_Damn __it__. __Don__'__t __take __the __bait__._

"You know, the one with all the strawberries on top-"

_Don__'__t __do __it__._

"And the chocolate syrup-"

_It__'__s __a __trap__._

"And the pink icing!"

_Shit__._

Damn Naruto and his persuasiveness. Gaara glared at the happy fox demon as they exited the building. "Fi-"

"Gaara!" Another voice called out.

Both demons turned their heads to see a happy Suigetsu waving excitedly with a stupid grin on his face. Gaara decided that the universe does indeed hate him. On the bright side, this gave him a chance to escape Naruto's 'evil' clutches. Kiba had warned him a few days ago to try and not be caught alone with the blonde while he was set on revenge, and Gaara intended to take that warning to heart. If there were other people around then he would be able to distract himself from any of the blonde's attempts at stirring up his emotions.

"Suigetsu." Gaara muttered as the wraith approached.

The white-haired teen threw him a toothy smile and said, "I'm glad I found you! Will you-"

"I'm not letting you court me." Gaara hissed. He appreciated persistence, but this was getting ridiculous.

Suigetsu blinked and his face went blank. "Actually, that wasn't what I was going to ask you." Gaara raised a nonexistent eyebrow. "I was wondering if you would eat lunch with me and my friends tomorrow. You know, so you can get to know me a little better?"

Gaara frowned slightly, unsure of what to think of the wraith's sudden request. The pressure in Gaara's head increased.

"No." Gaara muttered, his tone firm.

Suigetsu's face dropped into an expression of sadness. "Why not?"

Gaara, really just wanting to be left alone, sighed and laid a hand on his temple, trying to ward off his oncoming headache. "Because you annoy me."

Suigetsu made a small sound in the back of his throat, and it looked like he wanted to say something else but nothing came. Instead, he sighed and shoved his hands in his pockets. "Alright. Just...let me know if you change your mind."

The rejection in the wraith's voice actually made Gaara feel a little guilty. And he looked really upset. Damn. It couldn't hurt to eat lunch with the idiot _once_, could it?

Gaara sighed again and pursed his lips. "Fine. But only once."

A look of pure joy graced Suigetsu's face as he lunged forward and captured the raccoon demon in a tight hug. "Thank you, Gaara! I promise you'll have fun!"

Gaara hissed, legs dangling above the ground. He hated hugs but he hated his shortness being made evident even more. Sensing the raccoon demon's distress, Ryo scurried up Suigetsu's body and bit into his shoulder. The wraith shrieked and immediately let go of Gaara, who landed on his feet with a small thump. Suigetsu flailed around, trying to get the little raccoon to let go. After a few minutes of watching in silent amusement, Gaara finally grabbed Ryo around the stomach and gently dislodged his teeth from the wraith's shoulder.

"Geez!" Suigetsu groaned. "Does he hate me or something?!"

Gaara stroked the top of Ryo's head and muttered, "Probably not."

The white-haired teen rubbed his shoulder and grinned. "Well I hope he doesn't. It would probably hurt my chances when I start courting you."

Gaara frowned and tightened his grip on Ryo. "I already told you that you can't court me."

"Right _now _I can't," Suigetsu's grin widened as he began to walk past the sand demon. "But the mating season is next month, and then you'll be free game. So prepare yourself." He sent a flirtatious wink his way before disappearing into the dorms.

The pressure in Gaara's head broke out into a full on headache.

The nerve of that bastard! It's true that all demons are free game during the mating season but that didn't mean he was just going to just _accept _it. Gaara could be extremely hard headed, and it was obvious to anyone that Suigetsu wasn't his type. Whatever his type even was. Probably someone who wasn't so damn loud all the time.

"What an asshole."

Gaara nearly jumped at the sound of Naruto's voice beside him. He had completely forgotten that he was having a conversation before Suigetsu arrived.

"What do you mean?" He muttered. He, too, thought that Suigetsu was somewhat of an asshole but he wanted to hear his friend's theory.

Naruto huffed and crossed his arms, his revenge scheme momentarily forgotten. "He's too damn cocky! I mean, he basically just said that if he wants you, he can have you! He's a jerk and I don't like him one bit!" The blonde glanced at his shorter friend. "Are you really going to have lunch with him tomorrow?"

"Of course not." Gaara hissed. He set Ryo down before continuing his walk towards the beach. Of course Naruto followed him.

"Really?" Naruto asked with a grin.

"I've made it quite obvious that I have no interest in him. If being stood up doesn't make him give up hope then nothing will."

"Either that will or your little guard raccoon here will do the job." Naruto chuckled and pointed to Ryo.

Gaara glanced down at his furry companion and couldn't help but agree. He wouldn't say it out loud, but one of the reasons he would not let Suigetsu court him was because of Ryo. Gaara knew that Ryo was an excellent judge of character. So if the little raccoon had a reason to dislike someone, then so did he.

Suddenly, Ryo stopped in his tracks and lifted his head in the air.

"Ryo?" Gaara asked, noticing the raccoon's sudden halt.

Without warning, Ryo shot forward and disappeared out of sight. Gaara grunted in panic and immediately ran in the direction Ryo had gone.

"Wait for me!" Naruto yelled.

Gaara, not being able to see from the swarm of teenager, relied on his senses to find his little friend. He walked quickly while keeping an eye out for anything small and red, Naruto following close behind. What Gaara wanted to know was what caused Ryo to suddenly run off like that. Usually he was completely calm and it took something really big to set him off.

When the redhead finally managed to spot his furry companion, he froze and pursed his lips.

"What?" Naruto asked, noticing his friend's expression. He followed Gaara gaze and had to cover his mouth to keep from laughing.

There, standing on the back of a beach chair, was innocent little Ryo. And sitting in the beach chair was none other than one Neji Hyuga. Ryo was currently leaned forward, sniffing at the hair of the unsuspecting sorcery demon who was immersed in a book. The raccoon seemed completely mesmerized by the Hyuga hair, his face almost pressed against the dark brown locks.

"What the hell is he doing?" Gaara hissed, not wanting his precious companion that close to the Asshole.

"I think he likes the smell of Neji's hair." Naruto snorted, unable to keep the grin off his face.

They continued to watch silently, unsure of what else to do, and Naruto nearly died when Ryo leaned forward and snipped at Neji's hair. Gaara, not amused in the least, laid his bag on the ground and rummaged through it. After a few seconds he produced an unused pink Pearl eraser. He held it up to Naruto and muttered, "How's your aim?"

The fox demon grinned widely before snatching the eraser out of Gaara's hand. "My aim is amazing! What do you need me to do?"

Gaara placed his bag back over his shoulder and crossed his arms. "Throw it at Ryo but not too hard. Just get his attention-"

"Ha! Easy as instant ramen!" The blonde interrupted loudly, much to Gaara's displeasure.

Naruto tightly gripped the eraser in his hand and stared at Ryo. He took a few deep breaths before reeling back his arm and launching the eraser through the air. They both watched in suspense as the small projectile hurtled through the air and came closer and closer to Ryo. Finally, the eraser made impact.

"What the hell?" Came the agitated voice of Neji.

The eraser had missed Ryo by a hair and had ended up hitting the Hyuga square in the back of the head.

Gaara angrily turned to Naruto and hissed, "I thought you could aim!"

"I can!" The blonde argued. "I barely missed!"

"You were supposed to hit Ryo! Not the asshole!"

"I'm sorry! It was a mistake!"

Gaara growled and dug the tips of his fingers into his temples, headache now attacking him with full force. "You d-

"Ahem."

Gaara and Naruto both froze and slowly turned their heads. They were greeted with the sight of Neji standing before them, a rather annoyed expression on his face, while the eraser that had assaulted him was being held between two of his fingers.

"This wouldn't happen to belong to either of you, would it?" The sorcery demon growled.

Gaara quickly pointed to Naruto, who in turn made a disbelieving sound in the back of his throat. Grunting in annoyance, Neji threw the eraser at the blonde's feet.

"What exactly were you even trying to do?" Neji asked, crossing his arms.

Naruto picked up the eraser and started, "We were just-"

"We don't have to explain ourselves to you." Gaara muttered. A small squeak drew his attention to the ground and he spotted Ryo at the Hyuga's feet. The little creature was rather busy sniffing at the pale-eyed boy's leg.

"Oh, and who's this?" Neji purred, picking up the little raccoon. Gaara immediately stiffened, the pain in his head blazing.

"Put Ryo down." The sand demon demanded.

Neji raised an eyebrow at this, a smirk stretching across his elegant fact. "Why would I do that? He seems to be rather fond of me."

Gaara inhaled a sharp intake of breath as Ryo leaned forward in the Hyuga's hands and sniffed at his face, his tail swaying slightly.

"Put. Him. _Down__._" Gaara hissed again, clenching his fists. _No __one _was allowed to touch Ryo. Especially this asshole. It also didn't help that it felt like someone was bashing his skull in with a sledgehammer.

"Hmm," Neji hummed, stroking the top of Ryo's head with a finger. "I don't think I will."

Gaara's anger spiked and he snapped his head to the little raccoon. "_Ryo__,_" Ryo squeaked and quickly looked up at the redhead, snapping out of his daze. "Come here. _Now__._"

Ryo squeaked again and attempted at wriggling out of the Hyuga's grip but was being held too tight. Naruto, unsure of what to do, stood beside Gaara silently, completely aware of the anger rolling off the redhead.

"I'll say it one more time, _Hyuga__,_" Gaara spat, nails digging into his palms. "Put him down _now__._"

Neji remained silence, smirk still in place, and raised a challenging eyebrow. That arrogant bastard. Only Ryo. The only thing that could over make him lose it was Ryo. And he did. Gaara snapped.

With something between a growl and grunt, Gaara lunged forward and tackled the sorcery demon to the ground, Ryo jumping out of the way as soon as the grip around him slackened. Now straddling the Hyuga's hips, Gaara pulled back his fist and brought it down in a swift motion without touching the larger demon's face. When he had lifted his arm, a large stream of sand had lifted from the ground and formed into a fist, and it had came down with great force upon Neji's face when the sand demon made a punching motion. Gaara soon had a rhythm going. Lift, punch. lift, punch. It was only after the fifth punch that Naruto ran forward to drag him off the Hyuga.

Gaara sat there, legs sticking straight out, panting and trembling. It's been years since he had an outburst like that. Last time it had been because of his father; once again blaming him for the death of his mother. The same time that his-

Shit.

Oh. Shit.

Slowly, Gaara reached up and ran his fingers through his red locks. He automatically froze when he was met with resistance. He then turned his head to the side and grit his teeth when he saw what was resting next to his leg.

His animalistic features were showing. And he had unintentionally drew attention during his outburst. Two small ears were sticking out from his messy red locks and a long, bushy ringed tail ran down from just above his waist to the ground. Looking around, Gaara noticed that many occupants of the beach were staring at him with the worst expressions possible. Some people were chuckling amusedly while others were practically swooning. All of this despite the fact that he'd just attacked someone.

"How cute." Came a purr from beside him.

Gaara snapped his head to the side to see Neji slowly sitting up from the sand with blood dripping down his nose and mouth. But instead of an enraged look on his face, there was a leer. The same leer that he had been given during their encounter on the roof. It was one of the rare moments when Gaara flushed a deep scarlet. He needed to get out of there and fast.

The sand demon quickly got up from the ground and grabbed his bag, throwing it over his shoulder as fast as he could. He turned around and growled when he saw the victorious grin on Naruto's face.

That asshole of a friend.

Gaara swiped Ryo from the ground and practically bolted for the dorms. Gaara took pride in keeping up a tough interior and exterior, so he despised the way he looked with his animalistic features. The redhead took the stairs two steps at a time and he couldn't get his keycard out fast enough by the time he reached his room. As he threw open the door and ran inside only one thought crossed his mind.

_I__'__m __going __to __kill __that __Asshole__._

**Like ****I ****said****, ****sorry ****if ****this ****chapter ****wasn****'****t ****as ****good ****as ****the ****others****!**

**I ****just ****have ****to ****get ****back ****into ****the ****flow ****of ****writing****!**

**You ****guys ****are ****just ****going ****to ****have ****to ****wait ****for ****Gaara****'****s ****revenge ****on ****Neji~ ****It****'****ll ****come ****soon ****enough~**

**I ****love ****you ****all ****so ****much ****and ****thanks ****a ****bunch ****for ****your ****dedication ****to ****this ****story****!**

**Oh****, ****and ****also****, ****if ****any ****of ****you ****have ****suggestions ****or ****some ****stuff ****to ****go ****in ****the ****story ****then ****I ****will ****be ****more ****than ****happy ****to ****hear ****it****! :)**

**Please ****review****!**


	8. Anatomy and Shopping

**Hey ****guys****!**

**You ****don****'****t ****know ****how ****happy ****I ****am ****right ****now****! :)**

**My ****depression ****is ****backing ****off ****and ****I****'****m ****so ****thrilled ****with ****all ****the ****reviews ****and ****favs ****and ****followers ****I****'****ve ****been ****getting ****lately****!**

**I ****love ****you ****guys****!**

**Thanks ****to ****all ****you ****little ****beauties ****who ****reviewed~**

**Sorry ****it ****took ****so ****long****! ****XD ****I****'****m ****trying ****to ****work ****fast ****while ****also ****making ****it ****fantastic ****so ****just ****bear ****with ****me****!**

Knock knock knock!

"Go away!" Came the muffled voice of Gaara, who was currently hiding under the covers of his bed.

It had been two hours since the little redhead had been humiliated in front of his peers and his animalistic features had yet to disappear. What other choice did he have but to hide in his room? Naruto had been pounding at his door and trying to convince him to come out for the past five minutes. Gaara was having none of it.

"Come on, Gaara!" Naruto yelled. "It's not that bad!"

Gaara stuck his head out of the covers long enough to yell, "Go to hell!" Before disappearing again.

Naruto huffed and crossed his arms. He needed to find a way to lure the sand demon out of his room. He couldn't stay in there all day! Laying one hand on the door Naruto yelled, "Look, I'm sorry for laughing at you earlier! I shouldn't have! Just please open th-"

Suddenly, the door swung open and an adorable, angry Gaara was glaring at him; ears and tail fluffed up.

"Go. To. _Hell__._" He spat. And the door slammed shut again.

Naruto groaned and banged his fist against the door. "Gaara, I'm serious! Open the door!"

Silence.

"If you don't open the door, I'll go get Lee!"

More silence. With a slight growl, Naruto stormed off.

Gaara, without coming out from under the covers, muttered, "Is he gone?"

Ryo, who had taken up position guarding the door, let out a quick squeak. Sighing, Gaara crawled out from under the covers and rubbed his face. So far, today had been terrible and it was probably going to get worse. Why the hell did Neji have to piss him off? Why did he even bother leaving the room? He'd be better off turning into a hermit.

Sensing his companion's stress, Ryo jumped onto the bed and pressed his forehead to Gaara's arm. Gaara instinctively picked him up and stroked his head.

"You're lucky I can't stay mad at you," Gaara muttered. "It's basically your fault anyways."

Ryo squeaked innocently and pushed his head against the hand petting his head. Gaara sighed and got up from the bed.

"I don't know what to think of this place, Ryo," The sand demon muttered, slowly walking around his room. "I have actual friends now, but I have more enemies than back at home. I've been getting into more fights, which is sure to get around to _him_...and then there's the mating season coming up. There's also the Asshole to worry about. Not to mention S-" Gaara stopped short at hearing a faint sound outside his door. Frowning in confusion, he walked over to the door and pressed his ear against the wood. He listened intently as the sound gradually became louder. It took a few more seconds of listening before Gaara finally recognized the sound and just barely threw himself to the side in time before his door flew off its hinges into his room.

"GAARA MY YOUTHFUL FRIEND! I HAVE COME TO RETRIEVE YOU AT THE REQUEST OF OUR FRIEND NARUTO!" Proclaimed a sparkling Lee, standing in the doorway in all his green jumpsuit glory.

Gaara stared at his misshapen door lying in the center of his floor. "...Did you just kick down my door?" He asked flatly.

Naruto strode into the room and stopped in front of the redhead. "I told you I'd get Lee," He grinned, crossing his arms. "Now, ready to come out of your room?"

Gaara stared at the floor. "You kicked down my door..."

"Forget about your door! You can't hide in your room for the rest of the day!"

Gaara glared at his blonde friend and held Ryo closer to his chest. "I'm not going out until my ears and tail are gone."

Naruto sighed and placed his hands on his hips. "Well, how much longer until it wears off?"

"It varies. It can last from a few minutes to hours-" Gaara's sentence dropped off as something pink outside caught his eye. Pushing past his two friends, he walked out to the hall and pulled a flyer off the wall.

"Gaara?" Naruto called, confused by his friend's strange behavior.

The raccoon demon was silent for a few moments before muttering, "Naruto, you said you were sorry for laughing at me earlier, right?"

Naruto slowly made his way next to the redhead. "Yeah, why?"

Gaara showed him the flyer and a small, morbid smile crept onto his face. "You're going to help me get revenge on a certain Asshole. You can also get a bit of revenge of your own."

* * *

Gaara sighed as he slowly trudged towards his Anatomy class. He was already ten minutes late but given who his teacher was, he could care less. As he walked into the room, he automatically made his way to the empty seat beside Naruto.

"You're getting anxious too, aren't you?" The fox demon asked with a grin.

Gaara hated to admit it, but he was anxious. The scheme that they'd come up with a few days ago had already been put into action, but it wouldn't actually take place until tomorrow.

"I guess." Gaara muttered, laying his head on his desk before closing his eyes.

Naruto frowned, recognizing this as a sign of one of Gaara's class naps. "Are you that tired again?"

Gaara grunted in response.

"Gaara...how much sleep do you get at night?"

The sand demon's eyes slowly opened at that question, and he turned his cold gaze towards his blonde friend. "It's none of your business."

Naruto sighed and let the subject drop. He'd quickly learned that there were some things Gaara wasn't willing to talk about. Just like everyone else, Gaara had secrets that he was entitled to keep.

"Good morning everyone." Came the cheery voice of Kakashi as he strolled into the room.

"Kakashi-sensei!" One student yelled. "You're ten minutes earlier than usual! What gives?"

Kakashi smiled behind his mask and laid a small book on his table. "I'm here early because we have something very important to go over today." Picking up a piece of chalk, he slowly began to write on the board.

Gaara paled as he realized that the white-haired teacher was writing DEMON MATING SEASON on the chalkboard. He exchanged an uneasy glance with Naruto.

"I know it has nothing to do with anatomy, but the school board has asked me to give a small lesson on the mating season coming up in three weeks," Kakashi sat down in his seat. "Now, how many of you are demons?" He nodded as over half the class raised their hands. "Excellent. But this doesn't just apply to demons. This also applies to any creature who might mate with a demon in the future."

As Kakashi continued to speak, the hairs on the back of Gaara's neck stood on end. Someone was watching him, and he knew exactly who it was. He didn't dare turn around.

"Now, I know all of you are aware of the basic rituals and rules, but there are some other things you need to know!"

_Listen__c losely__, __Gaara__._

Gaara's body went stiff as a voice entered his head. And it was _not _his voice.

"Lets start with the 3 gifts! Everyone knows about the gifts that a dominant must present to their submissive, but what most people don't know is that each gift has to have some sort of sentimental value," Kakashi began to place some items onto his desk as he spoke. "The first two gifts have to mean something to the dominant, showing the submissive just how much they mean to them. The third gift must mean something to the submissive, which will show that the dominant listens and pays attention to their potential mate's likes and dislikes."

_I __wonder__, __what __do _you _like__, __Gaara__?_

Gaara shuddered slightly. The voice was like silk, wrapping itself around his thoughts and caressing them. It sounded familiar, but there was something dulling the full volume of the voice.

"There's also the matter of the Dominant Fights. Some submissives try to take advantage of the fact that they get to choose the location and rules of the fight so that the dominant they favorite will have the upper hand. This is not allowed under any circumstances. The submissive must choose a terrain and choose rules that will make the fight fair and give each dominant a chance at winning."

_Hm__. __That __pathetic __wraith __did __not __stand __a __chance __in __the __first __place__. __Don__'__t __you __agree__?_

Gaara grit his teeth and glanced at Naruto. He narrowed his non existent eyebrows once he realized that the blonde was equally as pale and a thin sheen of sweat coated his skin.

"Also, if there is more than one dominant courting a submissive then the Dominant Fight must take place within the first week of the mating ritual." Kakashi got up from his seat and moved to the front of the desk. "And I'll give you all a small tip. If you're planning on telling someone that you're going to court them, make it special. Don't just walk up to them and say 'Hey! I'm going to court you!'. Let me tell you from experience, that'll only get you a kick in the butt." He chuckled and leaned back against his desk. "Does anyone plan on courting someone this mating season?"

Gaara heard a slight shuffling behind him but kept his face forward, still not daring to turn around.

Kakashi raised a surprised eyebrow. "Neji! I didn't think you would be one to raise your hand. Do you have an idea of how to announce your courting decision?"

"Yes, actually," Neji purred. "I've been thinking about it for a while now, and I'm very anxious to see his reaction."

There were a few startled reactions around the room at hearing that the famous Neji Hyuga's choice for a mate was a 'he'. The news would probably spread like wildfire once the class let out. There would undoubtedly be a large amount of unhappy fangirls as well.

"That's good to hear," Kakashi said in approval. "Now, does an-" A knock at the door interrupted what Kakashi was going to say next. "Come in."

The door opened and Gaara immediately shrank down in his seat.

"Sorry to interrupt, sir. I'm just here for my brother. Tsunade-sama wants to see him." Temari said unhappily as she walked into the room.

Kakashi nodded, knowing about Temari's excellent school record, and glanced up at the redhead. "Gaara, you are excused."

Unsure about what was going on, Gaara slowly rose from his seat and walked down the steps to his sister. Temari placed a hand on his shoulder and silently led him out of the room. Once they were further down the hall, Gaara decided to speak.

"Temari, what is this about?"

His sister sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "Tsunade-sama doesn't actually want to see you. I got you out of class because me and Kankuro need to talk to you." As she said this, they rounded the corner and Gaara's older brother came into view.

Gaara frowned as a weird feeling settled in the pit of his stomach. "Talk to me about what?"

Kankuro crossed his arms and sat down on one of the hallway benches. "We've heard about the fights you've been getting in with Neji Hyuga."

"And you stabbing Suigetsu in the hand with a fork." Temari added sternly.

"And the way you've been letting Ryo attack Suigetsu." Kankuro finished.

Temari's face fell from a stern look to a pleading look. "You can't be doing these kind of things, Gaara. You know just as well as we do that if father hears about this..."

"He'll send me back home." Gaara muttered, finishing Temari's sentence.

"Exactly," Kankuro said, crossing his arms. "You need to be more careful, kid! We'll protect you as much as we can but we can only do so much."

Gaara sat down next to his brother and bowed his head, a stubborn expression on his face. "I don't need protection."

Temari frowned and crouched down in front of the sand demon. "Gaara, we're your older siblings and we're going to protect you whether you like it or not. I know we don't show it all the time but we love you. So _please _stop getting into trouble; for our sake and yours." Temari stood up and crossed her arms, her voice taking a lighter tone. "Now, what's this I hear about Suigetsu wanting to court you?"

Gaara flushed slightly, somewhat uncomfortable with discussing a topic such as this with his siblings. "It's nothing. He's just an idiot who's gotten his hopes up."

Kankuro and Temari both made a 'hm' sound and studied their younger brother. Gaara shifted uncomfortably under their gazes. The longer they studied him, the more unhappy Temari looked.

"Alright, I believe you. But now that we've gotten all that out of the way, it's time to breach a more serious topic." The blonde fairy placed her hands on her hips and pursed her lips.

Gaara gave her a questionable look.

Temari pulled him off of the bench and placed her hands on his shoulders. "After school today, I'm taking you out shopping. You _really _need some new clothes," She stared at his face for a few seconds. "And a haircut."

Gaara frowned and glanced down at his paint splattered t shirt and ripped, faded jeans. "What's wrong with my clothes?"

Kankuro laughed and jumped up from the bench. "Are you kidding me? You look like you were just dragged out of the trashcan!"

"No I don-"

"Yes you do." The older siblings said at the same time with serious expressions on their face.

Gaara gave up on protesting, knowing it wouldn't get him anywhere. At least he would be able to keep his old clothes and mix them in with whatever his older sister deemed as 'acceptable'.

Temari smiled at him, realizing that he'd given in, and gave him a small hug. "Go back to class, Gaara. I'll see you after school."

Gaara hesitated before slowly bringing his hands up and placing them on his sister's back. A hug every once in awhile never hurt.

* * *

A sigh escaped Gaara's lips for the hundredth time that day as Temari gave him another armload of clothes to try on. They had already accumulated five bags from two different stores. So far they had bought four dress shirts, twelve tshirts, five pairs of skinny jeans, much to Gaara's displeasure, three pair of shoes, and four shorts. All of these were in different shades of reds, greys, and blacks of course.

Gaara begrudgingly walked into a dressing room and laid down his pile of clothes on a chair. His sister had been getting more and more daring with her selections and he was almost afraid to see what he had to try on.

The first article of clothing wasn't so bad; a grey long sleeve shirt with black stitches forming an X on his chest. Liking it enough, he took it off and placed it in the 'yes' pile.

The second shirt was a bit more. A crimson shirt with a small v-neck and quarter length sleeves. He wasn't exactly pleased. Gaara put it on and after glancing in the mirror walked out for his sister's opinion: thus was their agreement.

Upon seeing her little brother, Temari grinning and said, "It looks great on you Gaara. Very flattering. Now keep that on and try on the pants I picked out for you with it. I'm going to run to the ladies room real quick. Just come on out once you have it on."

Gaara grunted in acknowledgement and went back into the changing room. Kicking off his shoes, Gaara picked up the pair of pants on top of the pile and nearly choked. In his hands were a pair of black leather pants.

"No way in hell." Gaara hissed. Despite saying this, he knew he had to at least try them on and let his sister see.

Not used to wearing tight pants, Gaara struggled for a few minutes before the pants were finally on and he dared a glance in the mirror. Gaara stared at his reflection in the mirror and pursed his lips. He actually looked...really nice. Despite his too thin frame, the shirt and pants seemed to compliment his body in a way his old clothes never did. Gaara groaned and stepped out of the dressing room to wait on his sister.

As he waited, Gaara glanced around the store. Luckily today wasn't a very busy day so there weren't many people in the store. There were a few women by the sportswear, a older gentlemen by the suits, a girl looking at jewelry, a long haired boy looking at slacks-

Gaara's face turned pale as he did a double and realized that he knew that long haired boy. He knew him all too well. And to make matters worse, he was only a few racks away. Gaara had no idea how he'd missed him before but there was no way he was going to be caught by anyone in these clothes, especially _him_.

Gaara quickly crouched down behind the rack of shirts in front of him and peered through them to keep track of the other boy. He remained like this for a few minutes and he frantically began to wonder where Temari was. A tap on his shoulder startled him and he spun around to see an unhappy employee staring down at him.

"Can I help you sir?" The woman asked with a frown.

The sand demon quickly stood up and, thinking fast, muttered, "No. I dropped my phone and slid under the clothes rack. Is that a problem?" Gaara fixed her with a cold stare and she automatically shrank back, an unsure expression on her face.

"O-of course not sir. I was just seeing if you needed assistance." She stuttered.

"I don't." He stated coldly.

"Of course. Um, please excuse me for irritating you." With that, she quickly scurried off.

Sometimes it paid to be intimidating.

"Gaara?" Came a silky, inquisitive voice from behind him.

_Shit__._

Gaara turned around to find Neji Hyuga standing a few feet away from him.

"Leave." Gaara demanded immediately, not wanting to deal with him at the moment.

Ignoring his command, Neji arched an eyebrow and let his eyes roam over the sand demon's frame. The sorcery demon slowly began to circle Gaara, drinking in the sight of his altered appearance.

"My my," Neji purred. "I had no idea you could clean up so _nicely, _Gaara_._"

Gaara felt a spark run down his spine at the way the other demon had spoken that last set of words.

And suddenly, Neji was right in front of him. Gaara was so surprised by the chest appearing in front of his face that he stumbled back into the wall behind him. Not missing a beat, Neji was back in front of him, staring him down. Gaara tensed as those pale orbs raked over his body a second time. He got a distinct feeling that he was a piece of meat being stared down by a pack of lions. Only, there was one lion.

While Gaara may not have been the brightest when it came to body language, he was not oblivious. And he was definitely receiving a 'come-hither' vibe from the other demon. The only problem was that it didn't make sense to him. Especially due to the fact that they detested each other.

"You should buy those."

Gaara was abruptly brought out of his thoughts by Neji's honey sweet voice.

"Huh?" The sand demon asked smartly.

Neji chuckled and grinned at him. "Those pants. You should buy them."

A light pink dusted Gaara's cheeks. He glared at the sorcery demon and hissed, "Why?"

In a flash, Neji had his lips pressed against Gaara's ear and a hand was placed on his hip. "They make your legs look amazing...amongst other things." He purred in that velvety voice. Gaara flushed red and he could practically feel the bastard smirking against his ear. He was too close. This made him feel too weird.

Without thinking, Gaara quickly pushed him away with a bit too much force and ran back inside the dressing room without seeing where the bastard would land. This time he would admit to running away. That freaked him the fuck out.

Gaara changed out of those clothes as fast as possible, which took a few minutes, wanting nothing more than to go back to his dorm and hibernate for a while. He quickly changed back into his normal clothes.

"Gaara?" Came the curious voice of his sister.

Bursting out of the dressing room, Gaara shoved the pile of clothes into Temari's arms and hissed, "Just get them all." As soon as he said it he practically ran out of the store to his sister's car.

Dazed, Temari stood there for a few minutes before slowly snapping out of it and walking to the register.

"I wonder what's gotten into him..."

**End ****of ****chapter**** 8!**

**Sorry ****if ****this ****one ****seemed s****hort ****and a ****little ****random ****too****! ****I****'****m ****still ****trying ****to ****get ****back ****in ****the ****swing ****of ****things****!**

**Next ****chapter****, ****Gaara ****shall ****finally ****get ****his ****revenge ****on ****Neji****! ****With ****a ****little ****extra ****surprise ****mixed ****in~ ****x****3**

**Please ****review****! :****D**


	9. Revenge is Sweet, In More Ways Than One

**Hellooooo ****beautiful ****readers****!**

**You ****ready ****for ****this ****chapter ****of ****Crimson ****Sands****? ****X****3 ****OF ****COURSE ****YOU ****ARE****!**

**Before ****I ****get ****started ****I ****REAAAALLY ****want ****you ****guys ****to ****do ****something ****for ****me****! ****I ****desperately ****need ****a ****cover ****for ****this ****fanfiction ****and ****I****'****m ****too ****lazy ****to ****make ****one****(****I ****love ****drawing ****and ****I****'****m ****pretty ****awesome ****at ****it****: ****not ****trying ****to ****brag ****or ****anything****!) ****So ****if ****some ****of ****you ****will ****draw ****an ****awesome ****cover ****photo****, ****I****'****ll ****choose ****one ****to ****use****! ****X****3**

**OH****! ****And ****thanks ****so ****much ****to ****all ****my ****lovelies ****who ****reviewed****! :3**

**Alright****! ****Enough ****chit****chat****! ****It****'****s ****revenge ****time****!**

Gaara sat in his art class and stared at the clock that was sitting upon the wall. Art was by far his favorite class but today the bell couldn't ring fast enough. Next period, Tsunade was going to gather all the students of the school into the large cafeteria for a small surprise. That would be when he gets his revenge.

For the past four days, he had been working with Naruto almost nonstop on their revenge scheme. Kiba was going to help too but his part wouldn't come until after the bell rang.

"Gaara-san?"

Gaara blinked and looked over at his art partner, Sai. The boy's fake smile always irritated him but he was...tolerable.

"Are you alright? You haven't even touched your sketchbook today."

Gaara glanced down at his paper and realized that he really hadn't done anything. "I'm fine," He muttered, picking up his pencil to start doodling. "I'm just a little...anxious."

Sai tilted his head to the side and asked in a curious tone, "Oh? About what?"

Gaara simply shrugged and continued his rough sketch of a raccoon that somewhat resembled Ryo. Sai hummed and went back to his own drawing. That was one reason why Gaara liked the pale boy; he knew when to drop a subject.

Like always, Gaara quickly became absorbed in his drawing and the clock was soon forgotten. He had just finished the details on the eyes when the bell rang loudly and jolted him out of his work. In a flash, Gaara stuffed his supplies into his bag and bolted out the door. As Gaara quickly made his way towards the cafeteria, Kiba ran past him with a wink. Perfect.

* * *

As he entered the cafeteria, Gaara was immediately pulled to the side by Tsunade, the same thing happening to Naruto a few minutes later.

"Thanks again for volunteering you two," The large breasted woman grinned. "Usually no one does and the _teachers _end up doing everything! Ungrateful brats."

Naruto glanced at Gaara before smiling. "No problem. It was actually kind of fun! Right, Gaara?" The blonde shot him a mischievous grin.

Gaara, ignoring the blonde's look, nodded and glanced around the room. Every student in the school, with the exception of Kiba, was piling into the large cafeteria, some having to stand from lack of seats. He couldn't care less about any of them. His focus was on three particular assholes.

"Okay everyone! SHUT UP!" Tsunade shouted one the room was completely full. In a flash, the cafeteria was filled with silence; no one wanting to face the wrath of Tsunade.

The blonde principle stepped forward and placed her hands on her hips. "As most of you know, every year we ask a few students to volunteer to make something for the student body to celebrate the upcoming mating season! We do this so students can commingle and interact with people they usually wouldn't. Following this will be the Mating Season Ball in a few weeks."

_Mating __Season __Ball__?_ Gaara thought with a frown. That did _not _sound like a good thing.

Tsunade gestured to four large tables behind her that were filled with cupcakes. "This year, two students volunteered and have prepared a cupcake for every student in the school! They even went so far as to make a list of every student's name and write them on the cupcakes," She glared at everyone around the room. "So _don__'__t _think about taking more than one! Only take the cupcake with your name on it! Understand?!" Every student nodded their heads quickly.

"Excellent," Tsunade went back to smiling. "The students you have to thank for this hard work are Naruto Uzumaki..." Naruto stepped forward, a bright smile on his face. Some students clapped and a few even shouted a quick 'thank you', while other students frowned and scowled. "And Gaara Sabaku!"

Gaara stepped forward and was already expecting the reaction he received. There was no clapping and no thank you's. Instead, most students turned pale and a few even looked like they were about to shit their pants. It was almost enough to bring a smile to his face.

"Okay, everyone form four single file lines and get your cupcake! The tables are set up in alphabetical order!" Tsunade yelled, clapping her hands together.

The students, a bit more apprehensive than before, slowly got up and got in their lines. As the teenage creatures shuffled along, Gaara spotted his target.

Neji Fucking Hyuga.

Gaara felt a rush of disgusting pleasure as he watched the sorcery demon pick up his cupcake. Neji looked up and, for a moment, their eyes met. Neji narrowed his eyes in suspicion before turning and walking back to his seat, Sasuke and Shino joining him a few minutes later.

Naruto placed a hand on the sand demon's shoulder to get his attention. "Don't stare directly at them," He whispered. "If they look over here and see you staring then they're definitely going to suspect something."

Gaara nodded and turned his head to the blonde but continued watching the trio from the corner of his eye. His attention was diverted, however, when his phone ring. With a scowl he flipped open his phone.

"Hel-"

"It's finished!" Came the happy, breathless voice of Kiba. "It's all gone! Not a single piece left in the school!"

A bone-chilling grin spread across Gaara's face as he shut his phone without a word.

Noticing the redhead's creepy grin, Naruto raised an eyebrow and smiled. "I take it Kiba got the job done?"

"Yeah," Gaara muttered. He glanced at the trio and felt a rush of excitement. "Naruto." He nodded towards them.

Naruto turned and a delighted grin took over his face. "They ate them."

Now both demons were staring at the trio, awaiting their 'surprise' to take effect. They knew exactly when it kicked in. Sasuke and Neji's eyes widened and Shino became tense at the same time. In a flash, the three creature stood up and bolted out the cafeteria doors. Naruto and Gaara glanced at each other before quickly pursuing.

As they ran out into the hallway, Gaara just managed to see Shino disappear into a room at the far end of the hallway. Grabbing Naruto by the collar, Gaara dragged him to the room's door but didn't go inside. Where were they?

The bathroom.

From here they could hear a fair amount of profanities being shouted...among some other unpleasant things.

"Guys!"

Gaara and Naruto turned their heads to see Kiba running their way.

Grinning, the demon hound skidded to a stop in front of the two and placed his hands on Gaara's shoulders. "Alright, I did what you asked! Now tell me what you did!"

Naruto's jaw dropped as he stared at the raccoon demon with a disbelieving expression. "YOU DIDN'T TELL HIM?!"

Gaara shrugged and crossed his arms. "I didn't see it as 'important' at the time."

Being as impatient as a dog, Kiba shook the redhead's shoulders and demanded excitedly, "Tell me what you did!"

Gaara sighed and had to resist the urge to hit himself in the forehead. His friends definitely weren't the sharpest knives in the killing kit...except for Shikamaru.

Pushing the demon hound off of him, Gaara muttered, "I baked Miralax into their cupcakes. Then I had you get rid of all the toilet paper in the school. Get the picture?"

Kiba stared at his short friend for a few seconds before a snort escaped his lips. He burst out laughing at the same time as Naruto and they both collapsed to the ground. Tears fell down their faces as they rolled on the ground, snorting and clutching their stomachs. Gaara watched them in amusement, the side of his mouth twitching.

They all froze when they heard a rather loud voice scream from the bathroom, "WHERE'S THE FUCKING TOILET PAPER?!"

Everything was silent until Gaara did something he hadn't done in a long time.

He laughed.

A small sound of amusement bubbled up in his throat and erupted into the silence. It hurt his throat slightly from the lack of use but it didn't stop the soft laughs from coming out. Naruto and Kiba stared in amazement at their emotionless friend, baffled by the joyful expression on his face. Gaara leaned against the bathroom door and covered his mouth to try to muffle his laughs but they were still slightly audible. Gaara didn't know why that one question had been so funny, but it was.

His laughing was cut off when the bathroom door opened, causing him to fall backwards. Gaara grunted as his head hit the hard bathroom tiles, giving him an almost immediate headache. He looked up and was greeting with a _very _pissed off Neji staring down at him.

Naruto's eyes widened and he quickly stood up. "B-b-but the toilet paper-"

Neji switched his gaze to the blonde and hissed, "You didn't get rid of the paper towels."

"Shit." Kiba muttered.

Neji reached down and pulled Gaara off the ground by the back of his shirt. The sand demon hissed as his feet were lifted off the ground.

"You're going to regret doing that." Neji whispered into his ear, causing goosebumps to break out over his skin.

Sasuke and Shino came out of the bathroom a second later and made their way past Neji. As soon as Shino appeared, Kiba's ears and tail sprung from his body and he shrank back. The bug charmer stopped in front of him and crossed his arms. Kiba whimpered as the taller teen stared at him through his glasses.

Sasuke, being a bit more aggressive, stalked forward and growled threateningly, "Dobe..."

Naruto's eyes widened at the cursed demon's predatory movements and did the first thing his instincts told him to do. _Run__._ Naruto was already halfway down the hallway before anyone could blink.

_Jerk__. _Gaara thought sourly as he watched his best friend abandon him.

"GET BACK HERE!" Sasuke screamed as he took off after the blonde.

Gaara was jerked out of his thoughts when Neji began to carry him down the hall.

"Put me down!" He snarled, thrashing around.

Neji remained quiet as he carried the sand demon outside. Not wanting to have a repeat of the last time he lost his temper, Gaara pressed his tongue against his teeth and let out a shrill whistle. In a matter of seconds, a red blur shot across the beach and attached itself to his pants leg.

Gaara glanced down at Ryo and made a few squeaking sounds, telling him to bite the bastard. Ryo squeaked, ran up to Nei's hand, opened his mouth, and froze. The small raccoon tentatively sniffed the sorcery demon's hand before squeaking happily. With a flick of his tail, Ryo jumped down and trotted away.

Gaara's eyes widened slightly in disbelief. Ryo didn't want to bite him...

Fed up with being carried, Gaara swung his legs back in an attempt to kick the larger demon. He hit nothing and only got a pair of arms wrapping around his upper body in return.

Gaara grit his teeth and tried to focus on where they were going. It was a bit hard to focus, though, with the asshole breathing down his neck. At the moment, Neji was carrying him down the beach, most students still in the cafeteria, and was heading towards the long row of umbrellas set in the sand.

As they approached one of the sets of the umbrellas, Neji roughly threw him down on the sand.

"What the hell are you-"

Gaara quickly shut up as Neji dropped to his knees and pushed his shoulders into the ground.

"Why do you insist on pissing me off?!" Neji hissed, glaring at the sand demon.

Gaara narrowed his eyes and gripped the taller demon's wrists to keep shoulders from being hurt too badly. "Pissing _you _off?" He snarled lowly. "You've been pissing me off from day one."

"I _tried _to be nice to you," Neji said slowly. "Yet you insisted on passing my kindness off as being an 'Asshole'."

Gaara's eyes widened slightly. Surely Neji hadn't-

"Oh, I heard alright." The pale-eyed teen purred evilly. "I hear _everything _you say about me. And due to a few talents, I can sometimes heard what you _think _about me. I've even been kind enough-"

_To __let __you __hear __some __of __the __things _I _think __of__._

Gaara's whole body went rigid as the realization dawned on him. That voice he had heard in Anatomy...was _Neji__._

"What the hell are you playing at?" Gaara hissed, digging his nails into the Hyuga's wrists.

Neji opened his mouth to say something but paused. After a second, an unnerving look entered his eyes and a smirk graced his features. "I guess beating around the bush is meaningless at this point," He purred. A gasp caught in Gaara's throat as Neji leaned down and nuzzled his neck. "Gaara, I'm going to make you my mate."

Gaara shivered as the sorcery demon's silky hair brushed against his skin and hot breath fanned across his neck.

"Screw you!" He whispered, his voice caught in his throat. "I refuse."

Neji chuckled and lifted his head up. "Gaara, the mating season is in less than two weeks...and we _both _know you can't reject me then."

Gaara realized with horror that he was right.

"Well what if-"

"Gaara."

"..."

"Stop arguing" Neji purred.

Gaara tensed as the sorcery demon leaned forward...and kissed him. Gaara's mind blurred as Neji tilted his head back and pressed their lips together lightly. Only one thing passed through his mind.

_Warm__._

Neji, not wanting to scare the smaller demon, lightly moved his lips again Gaara's, hoping to elicit some sort of reaction. Gaara, having never been kissed before, had no idea what to do. And while the larger teen's lips felt nice, he couldn't get past the fact that it was _Neji _kissing him. That is, until a tongue darted out and playfully licked his bottom lip. Gaara squeaked in surprise and Neji slipped his tongue into his mouth. Heat rushed to the sand demon's face as Neji's tongue lightly rubbed against his, trying to coax it to play. Gaara's head started to feel fuzzy and small whine was lost in their mouths as Neji gently rubbed his side. Neji placed a hand on the back of the redhead's neck and tilted it back slightly, earning a small groan from the smaller demon.

"LEAVE ME ALONE, TEME!"

Naruto's piercing voice quickly snapped Gaara out of his daze, the fog lifting from his mind, and the realization of what he was doing hit him like a sack of bricks. With a panicked grunt, Gaara threw the larger demon off of him and scrambled to his feet. He was just about to bolt when Neji's voice stopped him.

"There's no point in running, Gaara," The sorcery demon purred. "Now that you know my intentions, I have no reason to hold back anymore."

Gaara stared at him, those piercing white orbs not letting let him break eye contact, until a hand started pulling at his arm.

"Gaara, lets go!" Naruto pleaded. "Sasuke's trying to kill me!"

Gaara didn't need much motivation. He needed to get out of here before Neji found a way to convince him to stay...

**Sorry ****if ****this ****chapter ****seemed ****short ****o****3****o**

**I****'****ll ****try ****to ****make ****the ****next ****one ****longer****!**

**AND ****NEJI ****AND ****GAARA ****HAVE ****FINALLY ****KISSED****!**

**IT ****CAN ****ONLY ****GET ****BETTER ****FROM ****HERE****! ...****maybe****.**

**Hope ****you ****all ****enjoyed****! ****X****3**

**REVIEW PLEEEAAAASEEE****!**


	10. Peace and- OH SHIT!

**Hello ****again****! ****x****3**

**It ****seems ****that ****you ****all ****were ****rather ****pleased ****with ****the ****last ****chapter****! ****Good****!**

**And ****there ****were ****so ****many ****reviews ****that ****I ****decided ****to ****hop ****right ****on ****the ****next ****chapter****! :3**

**You ****guys ****are ****fantastic****!**

**And ****for ****all ****of ****those ****who ****are ****freaking ****out ****over ****why ****Gaara**** '****seems****' ****so ****weak****...**

**CALM ****DOWN****! ****JESUS****! ****IT ****WILL ****ALL ****BE ****EXPLAINED ****SOON****! *****cough***** ****next ****chapter**** *****cough***** ****XD**

**Okay****, ****moving ****on****!**

Gaara stared at himself in the mirror with a sour expression. He had just stepped out of the shower when his reflection caught his eye and made him stop. With a sigh, he realized that it was happening again.

His ribs were starting to show again. The bags under his eyes were starting to become more noticeable, too. The last time this happened was a few months ago; the result being that he passed out and ended up having to go to a hospital for a few days.

If his siblings or friends saw him like this...

With another sigh he left the bathroom and went to his closet. He would just have to wear some of his old baggier clothes until someone starts forcing him to eat again. Without much thought he grabbed a large black t-shirt with his kanji symbol on it and a pair of tattered jeans. It would have to do for now, seeing as how Temari got rid of a large amount of his old clothes...without his permission.

Gaara looked down at his feet and decided not to wear shoes. Today he just planned on going down to the beach and reading for awhile before someone came to bother him. If he was lucky, he would be able to finish the book he's been reading and even start another.

He picked up his bag at the foot of his bed and then stared at the little lump under the covers.

"Ryo, are you coming?"

The lump moved a bit before Ryo popped out from under the covers, his eyes squinty and his fur sticking up in odd places. Gaara snorted amusedly at his little companion and crossed his arms.

"Nevermind, go back to sleep. You deserve it." Gaara motioned back to the covers.

Without protest, Ryo squeaked and slunk back under the warm sheets to continue napping. On his way out, Gaara flipped off the lights for the little raccoon.

Gaara quickly made his way outside, not wanting to run into anyone in the dorms, and headed for the beach. As he approached, he couldn't help but frown at the huge crowd of teenagers occupying the sands. It was Saturday after all. Gaara began walking on the outside of the beach towards the North end; the least populated spot on the beach. Most teens avoided the North side of the beach because the waves were small and there were large patches of shade cast from the clump of trees that surround that end of the beach. Gaara still couldn't comprehend why so many people were obsessed with tans and whatnot.

Gaara sighed in relief as he plopped down in the cool shade. He never used a beach blanket because of how good the sand felt to him. Gaara felt a lot more relaxed now that no one was around him. Knowing that this peace wouldn't last forever, Gaara dug inside his bag and pulled out the thick book he'd been reading.

_The __Darkest __Depths __of __Heaven__._

At first glance, one might think that this book was filled with horror and scenes that would never let you sleep at night...which is undoubtedly correct. But what Gaara would never let anyone know is that the book was mostly centered around romance. No one would ever let him live it down if they found out. Especially Temari.

Gaara only ever read two types of books. Horror and romance. It was even better when the two were combined. It was no secret why Gaara loved horror books. The horrible scenes described on the pages would bring his vivid imagination to life and send jolts of adrenaline down his spine. The most horrific scenes would always bring out his artistic side and cause him to draw something amazing. His horror books were where a large majority of his inspiration comes from. Romance on the other hand...

Gaara honestly had no idea why romance novels attracted him so much. His guess was that it was because he had never really felt love before. While his siblings cared for him dearly, he'd never felt the warm love of a mother or father, or even a 'special someone' who felt the same way about him. When he read about the love that two people shared in books, it made the internal cogs and gears of his brain to work, trying to figure out what would cause anyone to feel that way about another person. And then, it also made him think about what it would _feel _like to fall in love with someone. For his usually cold heart to start beating erratically, for him to long for another person's presence, or to be embarrassed over the smallest gestures.

Of course, Gaara has no intentions of falling in love any time soon. In fact, he couldn't ever foresee it happening.

Within seconds, Gaara was absorbed in his book. His eyes smoothly rolled across the printed words and the world around him melted away. To him, this was peace.

* * *

Gaara sighed contently as he finished his book and closed it with a small _pap__._ He really did have a fabulous taste in authors. After all, it took a true genius to come up such an ending as this one. The two main characters, the lovers, ended up drowning in their combined blood after attempting to kill each other. As it had turned out, they'd been plotting against each other throughout the entire book while pretending to love the other one. Beautiful.

Now in a much better mood than earlier, Gaara pulled out his next book to get a head start and opened it with a small sense of excitement.

"Gaara! There you are!"

Gaara's grip tightened in irritation and one of the pages in his book ripped. With an annoyed growl, he turned to glare at the intrusive person only to find that it was his sister. An all new sense of dread came upon him at that moment.

Temari approached him with a small smile but it immediately dropped when she saw what he was wearing.

"Gaara," She said slowly, crossing her arm. "Why aren't you wearing the new clothes I bought for you? You said you liked them!"

Gaara sighed inwardly and gently closed his book before placing it in his bag. Looks like his time alone had officially ended. "I just didn't feel like wearing anything fancy..." It was a lie, but he couldn't let her know about his condition.

"Fancy?" Temari asked incredulously. "A lot of the clothes I bought you were casual lounging clothes!"

Gaara rubbed his temple and muttered, "Temari, can we please not-"

"Go get changed."

"...Huh?"

Temari laid her hands on her hips and gave him a stern look. "I was looking for you because Kankuro and I decided that we should go out for dinner tonight. We haven't been spending enough times together as siblings. We're going somewhere nice so you need proper clothes."

Gaara sighed and stood up. "Do I have to go?"

"Yes, you do. We've already made reservations for five people."

"Five?" Gaara asked.

Temari nodded and smiled a little. "Kankuro is bringing his future mate and we figured you would want to bring someone, too. I-"

"Kankuro is courting someone?" This was news to Gaara and it didn't exactly make him happy. Who thought that they had the right to mate with his older brother?

"Yes and you'll meet him tonight. So _behave__,_" Temari placed a hand on his shoulder and smiled. "And please pick someone decent to bring to dinner. I would prefer that you bring someone..._special _with you, but I understand that you haven't found that someone yet."

Gaara groaned and lowered his head. There she goes with the whole 'special someone' crap.

"What about that Suigetsu boy?"

Gaara glared at her and stated bluntly, "No way in hell."

"Well, why not?" Temari asked with a frown.

"He's annoying."

Temari sighed and turned around. Her brother was so hopeless. "Just make sure you find someone to bring, ok? Meet us in front of the school at six o'clock." She smiled at him one more time before walking off.

Gaara sighed and picked up his bag. So much for his good mood. He started walking back to the dorms so he could get his shoes. Now he actually had to go _find _someone to hang out with. Which left him with the big question.

Who _was_he going to bring? Kiba was a no because he would probably insist on bringing Akamaru. Shikamaru would undoubtedly sleep the whole time. Bring Choji to a restaurant? Dear god no. Lee?...Gaara shuddered at the thought.

Suigetsu? Like he told his sister, no way in hell. It would only give the wraith the impression that he had a chance with him. And he was annoying.

That left Naruto as his only option.

_And __Neji__._

Gaara grunted and stopped walking. Neji? Why the hell would he ever bring _Neji__?_ That asshole would undoubtedly bother him the whole time and molest him again. Neji wasn't even an option.

With another sigh, Gaara pulled out his phone and dialed Naruto's number.

* * *

Naruto stood at the side of the school's track with a large grin on his face. In his hand was a black stopwatch that had been working for ten minutes now. Today he was helping Kiba with his training and the demon hound was currently running the track at breakneck speed. Akamaru was running on the outside of the track to motivate him.

As he reached Naruto, he came to an abrupt stop and placed his hands on his knees while sucking in air. "H...how'd I...I do?" He panted as sweat poured down his body. He had his discarded his shirt at the beginning of training because he knew it would be drenched if he wore it.

Naruto looked at the watch and then at his friend, a huge smile on his fact. "You did AMAZING! You beat your last record by two minutes! How much have you been training?"

Kiba let out a breathy laugh and collapsed on the ground, his chest heaving up and down. "Three hours...ever...every day...each week. If...I can manage it."

Naruto laughed and sat down next to his friend. "And yet you're always so full of energy! I almost feel sorry for your mate." He snickered and poked Kiba in the side.

At the mention of a mate, Kiba laughed tensely and sat up. "Heh, yeah. I could say the same for you, though! Your stamina hardly has a limit!"

Naruto snorted and struck a pose with his hand behind his head and one on his hip. "But of course!"

They both burst out laughing at that and they took a good two minutes to calm down.

"Now that you've got your training in, how about we head down to the beach?" Naruto asked as he stood up.

Kiba hesitated before standing up and clearing his throat. "Um...yeah. Sure. But let's avoid the crowds, okay?"

"Uh, sure. No problem." Naruto frowned as he watched his friend go retrieve his shirt. Something was wrong...but it looked like the demon hound didn't want to talk about it, and Naruto knew Kiba wouldn't crack if he pressured him.

Kiba absolutely did not want to go to the beach. He just _knew _that Neji and his gang would be there. But more importantly...Shino would be there. And being there with Naruto would definitely make matters worse. Though his blonde friend didn't know it yet, he'd made a huge mistake after the cupcake incident the other day. A _HUGE _mistake.

As Kiba and Naruto made their way to the beach, Kiba got lost in thought and didn't realize where they were until it was too late. Neji, Sasuke, Shino, and their swarm of fangirls were directly in front of them.

"W-wait, Naruto! I left something at the track!" Kiba rushed out, stopping in his tracks and grabbing Naruto's arm.

"Huh? But all you had with you was Akamaru and the stopwatch and they're both here." Naruto raised an eyebrow and held up the stopwatch.

Kiba swallowed thickly and glanced behind him, realizing with horror that the trio was staring at him. Kiba risked a glance at Shino and felt his blood run cold. Even though the bug charmer's eyes and mouth was covered, it was obvious to anyone that he was pissed.

Naruto turned to see what he was looking at and a snarl erupted from his throat.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU ASSHOLES LOOKING AT?!" Naruto shouted, throwing a protective arm over his friend's shoulder.

Kiba's eyes widened in horror at his friend's action. _Oh __shit__._

"_NARUTO__!_" Without warning, Sasuke was up and stalking towards them faster than they would have liked. They then realized with even more horror that Shino was following him, though at a slower pace.

Kiba grabbed Naruto's wrist and started pulling him in the opposite direction. "Naruto, we need to go! NOW!"

"Why? We can take these jerks!" Though his words were full of confidence, he turned and started running with Kiba.

"Just run you idiot!"

They ran until they entered the dorms and they immediately entered the first janitor's closet they came across. It was only when they heard pounding feet go by that they let out sighs of relief.

"What the hell was that all about?!" Naruto asked breathlessly as he leaned against the wall. "It usually takes a lot more than that to get them pissed off! Especially Shino! He's always the quiet one!"

Kiba groaned and buried his head in his hands as his back slid down the door. "Oh man. This is all my fault!"

Naruto crouched down in front of him with a deep frown. "Your fault? How's it your fault? I'm the one who yelled at them."

Kiba sighed and placed his hands in his lap. "Well...it has to do with what happened after the cupcake prank..."

"You mean when that teme tried to kill me?"

"Y-yeah. You see, Shino-"

"Did that jerk do something to you again?! I swear if he did I'll freaking-"

"Wait wait! He'd didn't really _do _anything as much as he did..._say _something."

Naruto frowned in confusion and sat down, scratching his head. "Well, what did he say?"

Kiba drew his knees up to his chest and bit his lip. "Well...um. First he actually laughed."

Naruto's eyes widened. "He _laughed_? I've never even seen Shino _smile__!_"

Kiba laughed and covered him mouth, a small hint of red on his cheeks. "I-I know. He laughed and said 'Good job. You actually managed to get us'. But that's not the thing that really bothered me. He hesitated for a second, like he was thinking something over," Kiba blushed furiously now and buried his head into his knees. "T-then he said that I was going to be his mate...and that he was the only one allowed to touch me."

"HE SAID WHAT?!" Naruto screamed as he stood up quickly and banged his head against a shelf above. He cursed loudly and moved out from under it. "What gave him the right?! What did you say afterwards?! You hit him right? PLEASE tell me you hit him!"

Kiba stood up and rubbed his neck nervously. "I...I didn't hit him. But I sure did _say _something..."

Naruto grabbed his shoulders and shook him. "Well, what is it?! What did you say?!"

Kiba sucked in a deep breath and rushed out, "_ItoldhimIalreadyhadsomeonecourtingmeandthatsomeone wasyou__!"_

Naruto stared at him in silence for a few minutes before stating, "Um...come again?"

Kiba groaned. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I just _panicked _and that was the first thing to come out of my mouth! Now he thinks that you're courting me and he probably wants to kill you!"

Naruto smacked his palm with his fist. "And he's using Sasuke to help him!"

Kiba stared at his friend, a blank expression on his face. "How much of an idiot are you?"

"...It varies."

Kiba groaned and laid a hand on his head. "Listen you moron, Sasuke's chasing you becau-"

"Because he's pissed that I'm going to have a mate before him!" Naruto decided with a huff. "Well, all you have to do is explain to Shino that I'm not courting you, right? Problem solved! I just have to avoid them until then!"

"Well yeah, but I don't think I can face Shino just yet! He'd probably try and kill _me__!_"

Naruto hummed in understanding and stayed quiet for a few minutes. "Alright. Let's give it some time and then during lunch one day, let's _both _talk to Shino and explain the whole situation. How's that?"

Kiba smiled and said, "Sounds good. Thanks for not getting mad."

Naruto laughed and smacked him on the shoulder. "No problem! To be honest, I probably would have done the same thing! Now, let's get out of here."

Naruto slowly opened up the door and stuck his head out. After a quick glance left and right he signaled that it was safe. They quickly exited the closet and ran for the door. As the made it outside, Naruto's phone went off. He flipped it open and smiled when he saw the recipient.

"Gaara! What's up?"

"You're coming to eat dinner with me, Kankuro, and Temari. Meet me in front of the school at six. Wear something nice. You owe me for abandoning me the other day so no exceptions."

The line went dead and Naruto was left staring at his phone.

"What did he want?" Kiba asked.

Naruto put his phone back in his pocket and grinned. "I'm being forced against my will to go eat with Gaara and his siblings."

Kiba chuckled and patted him on the back. "Gee, don't I wish I could be in your place!"

Naruto snorted and pushed him playfully. "Oh, shut up! I'm glad to be spending more time with Gaara. He's always so distant."

Kiba shrugged and smiled as Akamaru came padding towards them. "Well, he likes his alone time. That's understandable."

"True. I worry about him, though." Naruto sighed and looked at the ground. "I almost never see him eat and he sleeps in most of the classes we share together."

Kiba sighed and leaned against his blonde friend. "Some people are like that. Look man, I'm beat from training and the attempted murder. I'm gonna head back to my room and-"

"_OI__! __DOBE__!_"

Kiba and Naruto both froze and glanced up.

_What __the __hell __is __with __this __timing__?! _Naruto and Kiba both thought.

Sasuke was half leaning out of a window two stories about them, a vicious glare on his face. He looked back and shouted, "Shino! I found them!"

"Shit! Run Kiba!" Naruto roughly pushed his friend through the dorm entrance. Kiba nodded and bolted to his room, which was luckily on the first floor.

Knowing that he would never make it to his room in time, seeing as how it was on the third floor, Naruto bolted back outside. A girlish, unearthly sound escaped his throat as a pair of feet slammed into his back and knocked him to the ground. A pair of strong hands pinned down his shoulders.

"Caught you." A deep voice growled in his ear.

"What the hell teme?! Did you jump from the freaking _window__?!_"

"Yes."

"Well get off!" Naruto hissed and began to struggle. "And where's Shino?!"

Sasuke sat down on the blonde's back and glared at the back of his head. "He went after Kiba. And speaking of Kiba, it's time to have a little chat."

Naruto tensed and stopped struggling.

_Oh__shit__._

**End ****of ****chapter**** 10! :3**

**Like ****I ****said****, ****the ****whole**** '****Gaara ****weaker ****than ****Neji****' ****thing ****will ****be ****explained ****later****! ****Don****'****t ****worry****, ****it****'****ll ****make ****sense****. ;****P**

**P****.****S****: ****I****'****m ****going ****to ****be ****starting ****another ****new ****fanfiction ****soon****! :****D ****It****'****ll ****be ****SasuNaru ****with ****them ****working ****as ****Assassins ****for ****Konoha****City****, ****so ****look ****out ****for ****it ****if ****you ****think ****it ****seems ****interesting****!**

**PLEASE ****REVIEW~**

**Reviews ****make ****the ****next ****chapter ****appear ****faster****~ ;3**


	11. Dinner Gone Wrong

**-****screams ****girlishly ****and ****rips ****face ****off****-**

**YOU ****GUUUUUUYS****! ****QwQ**

**M****-****MY ****FANFIC ****HAS ****REACHED ****OVER**** 100 ****REVIEEEEEEWS****! -****screams ****again****-**

**I ****LOVE ****YOU ****GUYS ****SO ****MUCH ****AND ****YOUR ****REVIEWS ****ARE ****SO ****FREAKING ****MOTIVATING****!**

**-****sobs ****deeply****-**

**I****'****ll ****do ****my ****best ****to ****make ****this ****a ****long ****chapter****! ****Just ****for ****you****! ****TwT**

**And ****thanks ****SOOOOO ****much ****to ****Ai****-****coco****-****chan ****for ****creating ****my ****Cover ****picture****! ****X****3**

**Ok****, ****and ****in ****response ****to ****Momo****'****s ****reviews****, ****let ****me ****take ****a ****moment ****to ****explain ****the ****difference ****between ****Demons ****and ****Creatures ****in ****my ****story****. ****Demons ****are ****born ****with ****royal ****blood ****that ****most ****creatures ****can ****sense****. ****They ****have ****a ****naturally ****powerful ****auras ****that ****attract ****submissives**** (****unless ****the ****demon ****is ****submissive****, ****then ****he****/****she ****attracts ****dominants****) ****and ****their ****abilities ****are ****usually ****more ****powerful ****than ****that ****of ****creatures****. ****Hope ****this ****helped****. :3**

Naruto hissed and clawed at the ground, desperately trying to get out from under the teme. He knew that a 'talk' with Sasuke would inevitably lead to a collection of bruises.

"Calm down," Sasuke growled, irritated at the blonde's struggling. "I'm not gonna hurt you."

Naruto glared over his shoulder and hissed, "Then let me up!"

Now Sasuke grinned and shook his head. "Nice try. If I let you up, then you'll just run. All I want to do is talk."

"Then talk already!" The fox demon screamed. "Your fat ass is crushing me and it isn't getting any lighter!"

Sasuke scowled and dug his knee into the smaller demon's ribs as a warning. "First of all, my ass is definitely not fat. It's beautiful. Second, stop courting Kiba."

Naruto didn't move for few minutes. This situation had to be handled very delicately. He had two choices. He could either go along with Kiba's lie or tell the truth. If he kept up the charade, the Sasuke would probably get angry and beat the everloving hell out of him. But on the other hand, Kiba had said that he wanted to talk to Shino first and explain himself...

Naruto inwardly groaned and made a decision.

Glaring over his shoulder, the blonde hissed, "Don't tell me what to do _teme_."

Not what Sasuke wanted to hear. With a fierce growl, the cursed demon flipped Naruto over and placed a hand on his chest so he could move.

"I don't think you comprehend the situation _dobe__._ Kiba belongs to Shino. And _you _belong t-"

"KIBA IS _NOT _A POSSESSION TO _OWN__!_" Naruto screamed, a furious expression on his face. "He's not some fucking _trophy__!_ And I'll kick anyone's ass who says otherwise!"

Sasuke pursed his lips and gripped the blonde's shirt in his fist. "Listen to what I'm saying, usuratonkachi! Shino wants Kiba so he's gonna get him! He nee-"

"If that's the way Shino thinks then he doesn't _deserve _Kiba! Kiba deserves only the best!"

Now a snarl passed Sasuke's lips and he viciously shook the blonde. "LISTEN TO ME! I'm trying keep you from getting hurt, you idiot!"

Naruto stared at the raven-haired demon in confusion, a small blush spreading across his cheeks. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Sasuke grunted irritably and let go of his shirt. "If you pursue Kiba, then Shino will challenge you to a dominant fight when the mating season starts. And with as strongly as he feels for the mutt, he'll kill you."

"Killing is forbidden in dominant fights." Naruto said uncertainly.

"Then he'll _almost _kill you." Sasuke stated with finality.

Naruto swallowed the lump in his throat, not doubting his words. Would he even be able to fight when he wasn't actually courting Kiba? What would Sasuke do if he knew the truth? Maybe it would actually be better to tell him...

"And besides, how would a weakling like you be able to protect a mate anyways? You're definitely not dominant material."

Then again, maybe not.

"YOU ASSHOLE!" Naruto screamed as he punched the bigger demon. His aim was slightly off and he ended up scraping his knuckles on the demon's fangs.

Sasuke grunted and lost grip on the blonde's shirt. Thinking fast, Naruto shoved him away and jumped to his feet. Balling his hands into fists, he said in the most confident voice he could muster, "Look, there's something you don't know about me and Kiba, but I can't say anything right now! So just let it go! It doesn't have anything to do with you anyways."

With that, he ran to his dorm to go get ready for his dinner with Gaara.

Sasuke watched him go with a sour expression. "It has _everything _to do with me, dobe." He muttered as the blonde disappeared through the dorm doors.

* * *

Gaara huffed as he waited outside the school. It was already fifteen minutes past six and Naruto had yet to show up, leaving Gaara cranky and irritable. He was just about to turn and leave when he saw something bolting across the school grounds. The sand demon let out a small sigh of relief when he realized that it was the blonde idiot.

"I'm so sorry, Gaara!" Naruto panted, clutching his chest. "I got a little caught up in some stuff."

Gaara grunted and started walking towards a car parked on the curb. "Just come on. We're already late as it is."

Not wanting to annoy his friend even more, Naruto followed close behind and let out a low whistle when he saw the car. Sitting there was an old black Kaiser Frazer, and Naruto couldn't help but ogle over it.

"Don't drool. It's my sister's car." Gaara muttered as he got into the back seat. Naruto grinned widely and got in behind him.

Gaara spoke a few quiet words to the driver and then they were off. They sat in the back seat in silence until Gaara glared at the fox demon from the corner of his eyes.

"So why were you late?"

Naruto tense and sweat immediately sprouted around his forehead. "Um...I ran into some trouble with the teme." He smiled sheepishly and held up his bruised and cut knuckle.

"Did he hurt you?"

Naruto paused and stared at the raccoon demon. Was he actually concerned? "Not really. He just sat on me, really."

Gaara 'hm'ed and crossed his arms. He might need to have a little chat with the Uchiha.

"Nice clothes by the way."

Gaara glared at the blonde and hissed, "No they're not."

Gaara hated what he was wearing at the moment. In the end, his sister had convinced herself that he would pick something unfitting to wear and showed up at his dorm to pick out his clothes for him. Gaara was currently wearing a crimson red, long sleeve button up shirt, accompanied by a pair of black dress pants and sleek black dress shoes. He dreaded having to be seen out in public like was dressed similarly, except his shirt was short sleeved and dark orange.

Gaara sighed as they pulled up to the restaurant. Byakugan. Something didn't feel right about tonight, but he supposed there was nothing he could do about it.

* * *

Gaara and Naruto entered the restaurant, Naruto looking around in awe while Gaara couldn't care less, and approached a wooden desk. An older gentleman gave them a gentle smile and opened a book as they stopped in front of him.

"Good evening, boys. Do you have a reservation?" He asked, clasping his hands together.

"We're here with the Sabaku party." Gaara muttered, his expression bored.

The old man flipped through the book, nodded, and stepped out from behind the desk. "Right this way."

They followed him into a private section of the restaurant and as they entered, Gaara just about had a heart attack.

"What...is _he _doing here?" The redhead hissed.

Sitting next to his sister was someone he _definitely _didn't want to see.

Suigetsu.

The wraith, dressed in a pair of black slacks and a purple dress shirt, gave him a toothy grin and stood up. "Hey, Gaara! Wow...you look amazing." He studied the raccoon demon from head to toe and all Gaara wanted to do was tell him to fuck off.

Gaara grit his teeth and turned to his sister for an explanation. Temari was silent for a few moments before she crossed her arms and tilted her chin up.

"I brought Suigetsu because I figured that you would end up not bringing someone. I guess I was wrong, sorry." She explained calmly. As if that was a good excuse! Does she even know what torture she'd just thrown him into?!

Temari smiled at the old man and kindly asked for an extra chair. Without question, the old man bowed and did as asked.

Temari quickly moved to the other side of the table so Gaara would have to sit between Naruto and Suigetsu, leaving two demons displeased and one wraith extremely happy. It was then that Gaara noticed the extra addition to their table.

"...Sai."

The gray skinned teen gave him his signature fake smile and said, "Hello, Gaara-san. It is a pleasure seeing you outside of the art room."

Gaara stared at him for a moment, looked at Kankuro, and then back to him. "So, my brother has chosen you to court?"

Sai nodded happily and tilted his head to the side. "Is that alright?"

"...I suppose."

He could live with Sai as his brother-in-law. He could be rather pleasant company at times. That and the guy was an artist, and that automatically added to his approval.

A waiter came over a few minutes later and asked them what they wanted to drink. They gave him their orders and he disappeared back into the kitchen. While waiting for him to return, Gaara was all too aware that Suigetsu was staring at him, as if asking for acknowledgement. To avoid having a conversation with him, the sand demon kept his eyes straight forward. As long as the wraith didn't annoy him too much or try to touch him, then tonight might not be so bad.

"So Suigetsu..." Temari started.

Gaara groaned inwardly and wanted so badly to just evaporate into the air. That was Temari's 'interview' voice, which meant she would be asking the wraith tons of questions, all of which would have something to do with his 'relationship' with Gaara.

"What do you plan on doing after you graduate from Kamachi?" Temari's stare was fierce, daring him to lie. She would accept nothing but the full truth.

Not missing a beat, Suigetsu smiled at her and said calmly, "I plan on moving to the Water Country to study marine biology. I've always been fascinated by aquatic life, and I'd love to learn more about it."

Temari's eyes widened in surprise and an impressed smile graced her face. This was obviously the kind of answer she'd been hoping for.

_Shit__. _Gaara thought sourly. The last thing he needed was for his sister to approve of this guy. It would lead to nothing but misunderstandings.

"A marine biologist, huh? That's a very successful field," Temari stated as the glass of wine she ordered was laid in front of her. She took a quick sip before continuing. "What are you going to do if your mate doesn't want to move so far away? What if they want to stay here in Konoha?" She sent a quick glance to Gaara, who deliberately looked away. He wouldn't play her little game.

"Then I'll stay here with them and get a job at the aquarium. Whatever makes them happy."

_What __a __load __of __shit__._

Temari crossed her legs and sat back. She studied the wraith for a moment before saying, "I'm not really one to beat around the bush, so let me get to point. I heard you want to court my little brother. Is that true?"

"_Temari__!_" Gaara hissed, glaring at his sister.

Temari raised her chin and glared back at him, though not as fiercely. "Hush, Gaara. I want to know if he's serious about this. I won't let just anyone court my brother. And if it makes you feel any better, I put Sai through the same treatment even though he's the one being courted. Even if Sai wasn't a...what kind of demon are you again?"

Sai gave her his signature smile and stated quietly, "I am a demon of Ink and Beasts."

Temari nodded. "Yes, yes. Even if Sai wasn't a demon of Ink and Beasts, I would still treat him the same. So please, Gaara, just bear with it." The fairy turned back to speak to Suigetsu but didn't get the chance.

Gaara stood and laid his hands on the table firmly. "I already told Suigetsu that I refuse to accept him as a courter!" He hissed. "You can not force me into a courtship that I don't want."

Temari, not used to her little brother speaking to her in such a way, stood up challengingly and crossed her arms. "Well if not Suigetsu, then who? No one else has shown a genuine romantic interest in you and you've never even shown interest in _anyone_! You need a mate, Gaara! Me and Kankuro won't always be there for you! You need someone to take care of you-"

Gaara narrowed his eyes and hissed, "I don't _need _anyone to take care of me! I've been taking care of myself for years without much problem. And just because I don't have a mate, it doesn't mean I can't be happy."

"You mean like _father_?" Temari asked bitingly, her voice full of scorn.

Gaara's eyes widened in shock at her question and one thing was evident in his expression. _Hurt_. It was then that Temari realized what she'd said and a tiny gasp escaped her lips.

"Gaara, wait!" She yelled when the sand demon turned and bolted from the room.

"Gaara!" Suigetsu shouted, jumping from his seat and running after the redhead.

Gaara ignored their calls and was walking as quickly towards the door as possible without attracting a lot of attention. He needed to get out. Even though she probably wasn't thinking when she said it, Gaara knew what Temari had mean by her question.

"So you want to be like that heartless bastard, right?" Is what she'd meant.

From anyone else, Gaara would have just gotten mad. This was his own sister, though. The only person he might consider calling a mother. To hear her say that was like a slap to the face. It made his blood run cold. It made him think of his father and the way he was beaten. It made him think of his mother, and the way she was dead because of him. _It __made __him __want __to __cry_.

He felt pressure on his bottom eyelid and he realized with horror that he really _was _about to cry. He hadn't cried in years, and the thought that just one comment from his sister could cause him to do so was terrifying. Gaara at least felt a bit of relief when he saw the door to the restaurant. If he could just get outside and away from people, then he would be able to shut the doors on his emotions again and calm down. He was so close to the door.

And then he ran into something tall and firm. The force from his stop caused a tiny, hot tear to fall from his pooling eyes. Putting on the fiercest glare he could muster, he looked up...and was met with the grinning face of Neji Hyuga.

Neji was smiling, but it only lasted for a second. As soon as he saw the water in the sand demon's eyes and the wetness on his face, Neji's eyes widened in surprise.

"Gaara...what-" He started to ask what was wrong, but something over Gaara's shoulder caught his eye. His expression quickly turn to one of rage and he briskly walked past the small redhead.

"You!" Neji growled, grabbing Suigetsu by the shirt and lifting him off the ground. "What did you do to him!?" His voice was filled with the promise of bloodshed.

Suigetsu hissed and clutched the sorcery demon's wrists. "I didn't do anything!"

Neji snarled and tightened his grip. "He wouldn't be crying if you 'didn't do anything'. Why are you here with him anyways?"

Suigetsu lifted his chin and managed a smirk. "I'm here as Gaara's guest for his family dinner. Better question is, what are _you _doing here, Hyuga? Stalking Gaara?"

Gaara stood behind them quietly, unsure whether to keep running or stay to make sure these two didn't slaughter each other. At least his eyes had mostly dried up already. He still felt depressed to the point that he wanted to go back to his dorm, curl up with Ryo, and let out his grief. Something was telling him to stay, though, so he did.

Neji huffed and set the wraith down none too gently. "If you must know, my uncle owns this restaurant. He sends me here every now and then to check up on it and make sure things are running smoothly."

With a scowl, Suigetsu walked past him and grabbed Gaara's arm, earning a growl from both demons. "If this is a restaurant owned by the Hyuga's, then we have no business here. Come on, Gaara." He tugged on the redheads arm.

Gaara hissed and was about to rip his arm out of the bastard's grip when his other arm was grasped tightly. When he looked back, Neji was staring at Suigetsu with such a fierce expression that he was tempted to scream at the wraith to run.

"I will never allow Gaara to go off with someone who made him cry. Now beat it." The tone of Neji's voice sent sparks of electricity up his spine.

Yanking his arms back to his sides, Gaara turned to the sorcery demon and muttered defensively, "I don't need you to defend me, Hyuga."

Pearly white clashed with teal at that moment. Neji's gaze was no longer angry. Instead, it was intense and longing. As the taller demon's eyes bore into his, Gaara felt heat crawl up his entire body.

"I wasn't defending you," Neji said in his silky voice. "I'm merely doing what my instinct are telling me to."

Gaara understood the meaning behind his words and blushed furiously. The sorcery demon had basically just said that his instincts were telling him to protect the redhead. A thing that only happens between possible mates.

Swallowing the lump in his throat, Gaara clenched his fists and hissed, "Well, keep your instincts to yourself."

Now, Neji smirked and raised an elegant eyebrow. "If I could keep them to myself, then they wouldn't be instincts," He reached out ran his fingers through the sand demon's hair, causing him to shiver. "Now would they?"

Before Gaara could respond, he was yanked backwards by a seething Suigetsu.

"Don't touch him!" The wraith hissed.

"Oh? And what gives _you _the right to touch him?"

"At least _I__'__m _his friend!"

"You're not my friend." Gaara stated flatly.

Neji snorted in amused while Suigetsu let out a sound of disbelief. How Gaara loved to ruin the wraith's confidence.

"Obviously Gaara doesn't wish for your company. Maybe you should leave." Neji suggested in an overly sweet tone.

Suigetsu glared at him angrily and clenched his fists. "Screw you, Hyuga! If anyone should leave, it should be you!"

Neji gave a genuine laugh, once again causing to run heat up Gaara's body, and tilted his head to the side. "I should leave a restaurant that's owned by my family?"

Suigetsu's face heated up in angry embarrassment. "You know what? FINE! I'll leave, but Gaara _will _be my mate! I won't let you have him!" He growled and stormed out of the restaurant.

Leaving him alone with Neji. Fuck.

Did he dare turn around? If he turned around, he would most likely have to say something to the larger demon. He was about to just walk straight forward and leave when the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. Gaara spun around quickly and was instantly grabbed by the back of the neck and pulled into a heated kiss. A small sound of surprise escaped his lips upon impact.

Big mistake.

In a flash, Neji's tongue slipped inside his mouth and Gaara couldn't help but take notice in the strong taste of peppermint. He...really liked peppermint. He shivered violently as the Hyuga's tongue slowly caressed the top of his mouth, sending please tingles down his spine.

Someone sneezing in the dining room quickly brought Gaara back to reality. He shoved Neji away from him and clamped his hands over his mouth. After a quick glance behind the Hyuga, Gaara was relieved to find that no one had seen them.

Neji stared at him, a satisfied smile on his face. "You really should keep better company, Gaara. Suigetsu doesn't suit you." The way he spoke so casually, as if that kiss didn't just happen, really pissed the redhead off.

Gaara fumed and brought his hands back down to his sides. "Shut up. I can do what I want and you can't stop me." He knew it sounded childish, but it was also the truth.

"Oh, really?" Neji asked with a smirk, his eyebrow raised. "You are aware that I'm stronger than you, right?"

Growling in irritation, Gaara stepped forward and glared up at him. "You stronger than me _now__. _As soon as I learn to control my abilities and the Raccoon Demon inside of me, _I__'__ll __kick __your __ass__._"

Always one to take advantage, Neji swooped down, pressed his lips to Gaara's ear, and whispered in a sultry voice, "I look forward to it. Although, I'm pretty sure that it will be _your_ ass, and I certainly won't be _kicking _it."

Blushing furiously, Gaara shoved him away for a second time and covered his ear. "You-! You...!"

"Goodbye, Gaara," Neji purred, turning around. "I'll certainly be seeing you tomorrow." With one more teasing glance, the sorcery demon strolled back into the dining room and disappeared around a corner.

Gaara, not wanted to spend another minute there, fled from the restaurant. As he quickly made his way back to the school, he remembered that his siblings, Sai, and Naruto were still at the restaurant. He quickly dismissed it and picked up his pace. He needed to get back to his dorm and talk to Ryo. About Suigetsu, about Neji...and especially about what Temari said.

As Gaara repeated her words in his head, a new wave of depression hit him and he felt extremely drained.

He was seriously considering skipping his classes tomorrow.

**End ****of ****chapter**** 11! :****D**

**I ****hope ****it ****was ****good****! **

**Of ****course****, ****I ****gotta ****add ****a ****little ****angst ****into ****my ****story, neh?**** :3 ****A ****story ****isn****'****t ****good ****unless ****it ****has ****angst****!**

**Anyways****, ****thanks ****again ****for ****helping ****me ****reach**** 100 ****reviews****! ****I ****seriously ****love ****you ****guys****!**

**Next ****chapter ****will ****be ****up ****pretty ****soon****! :3**

**PLEASE ****REVIEW****!**


	12. Complications

**Woohoo ****Next ****chapter****X****3**

**Well****, ****it****'****s ****that ****time ****again ****guys****!**

**I****'****m ****about ****to ****tackle ****a ****THIRD ****fanfiction****! :****D ****Please ****go ****to ****the ****poll ****on ****my ****page ****and ****vote ****for ****what ****my ****next ****story ****should ****be****! ****Here ****are ****the ****results ****so ****far****.**

_**SasukeXNaruto**__**- **__**An **__**Assassin**__**'**__**s **__**Lust **_**has**** 2 ****votes****!**

_**SasoriXDeidara**__**- **__**Circus **__**of **__**Desires **_**has**** 4 ****votes****!**

_**ShizuoXIzaya**__**- **__**A **__**Dangerous**__**, **__**Playful **__**Game **_**has**** 0 ****votes****!**

**And**_**VladXDanny**__**- **__**A **__**Challenge **__**for **__**a **__**Prize **_**has**** 0 ****votes****!**

**The ****descriptions ****of ****the ****stories ****are ****on ****my ****page ****too ****so ****please ****read ****those ****before ****you ****vote****! :****D**

**Also****, ****the ****questions ****that ****I****'****ve ****been ****receiving ****in ****my ****reviews ****will ****be ****answered ****soon ****enough****! ****X****3 ****Just ****be ****patient**

**Anyways****, ****on ****to ****the ****story****!**

**The ****first ****part ****is ****somewhat ****from ****Ryo****'****s****POV****. ****X****3**

Gaara stared at the wall of his dorm room, curled up in a ball with Ryo wrapped in his arms. The little raccoon was squeaking softly and brushing his nose against the redhead's face, doing his best to comfort him. When the redhead had come bursting through the door, it had started Ryo enough to come flying out from under the covers. Gaara had stripped all his clothes off and had only put on a pair of sweatpants before collapsing on the bed. Ryo immediately knew something was wrong.

Ryo studied the sand demon face and felt a wave of sadness hit him at the boy's expression. The young redhead's lips were pressed together tightly. His teal eyes were dull and distant, an upset glaze standing out. He was shivering slightly, be it from emotions or the cold was unclear.

Concerned for his best friend, Ryo nudged the sand demon's chin and squeaked quietly.

_Do __you __want __to __talk __about __it__?_

Gaara's eyes seemed to clear a bit before he looked down at the little raccoon. After a few seconds of staring, small tears began to stream down the sand demon's face. Startled, Ryo squeaked loudly and quickly began licking the tears from his cheeks. He had seen the boy cry a few times but it always managed to take him by surprise. Gaara was so strong and held his emotions so well that Ryo sometimes forgot that he _could _cry. But he did know one thing. If Gaara was crying, then someone had _made _him cry.

_Unacceptable__._

A sad, strangled sound escaped Gaara's throat and Ryo found himself being clutched tightly to the boy's chest.

"I'm not like him..." Gaara muttered hoarsely, burying his face into the little raccoon's fur.

Ryo's ears flattened against his skull as he stared at the sand demon. So it was about _him_. Gaara's asshole of father. Ryo had hated that man since the first time he met Gaara. Ryo hated the way that man had put his first two children on pedestals and then just threw Gaara into the mud like he was nothing. If it wasn't for the fact that Ryo was an animal, he would have taken Gaara far _far _away and gave him the life he deserved.

With a grunt, Ryo butted the sand demon in the forehead. Gaara slowly looked up, taking in shaky breaths as tears continued to slowly fall down his cheeks. Ryo pressed his paws to the redhead's chest and squeaked a few times.

_What __happened__?_

Gaara took a shaky breath and rubbed his eyes dry. Too tired to do otherwise, he quietly told Ryo everything that had happened. By the end of his story, Gaara had managed to stop crying, but the sadness was still evident in his eyes.

With an angry expression on his face, Ryo let a flurry of squeaks that were so jumbled Gaara almost had trouble understanding him.

_You__'__re _nothing _like __your __father__! __If __anything__, __you__'__re __the __exact _opposite _of __that __asshole__! __You __may __not __show __it __often__, __but __you __care __for __everyone __who__'__s __important __in __your __life__. __And __I __know __you__'__re __upset__, __Gaara__, __but __try __not __to __hold __it __against __Temari__. __She __only __wants __the __best __for __you__. __And __to __be __honest__, __I __agree __with __her__. __I __think __a __mate __would __be __good __for __you__._

After taking a minute to break down what the little raccoon had rushed out, Gaara frowned and placed Ryo in front of him.

"I don't need a mate. Besides, who would even be a suitable mate for me? I'm not exactly compatible with many people..." Gaara muttered.

At this, Ryo's ears perked up and he almost seemed to grin.

_Nej__-_

They both jumped slightly as someone began banged wildly at the door.

"GAARA!" Naruto's voice called out. "Please open the door! If you're in there, I need to know!"

Gaara frowned and clenched the blankets under him. Should he really let the blonde in when he might break down again? He glanced at Ryo who gave him a positive nod. Sighing, Gaara got up from the bed and went over to open the door. As soon as there was enough room, Naruto burst inside and threw his arms around the redhead.

"Gaara! Thank goodness!" Naruto cried. "Nobody knew where you went when we found out you ran off! I kept trying to come after you but Temari-san kept telling me that Suigetsu would handle it and wouldn't let me leave! Are you okay?" The blonde pulled back to study his friend's face. At seeing the sand demon's red and puffy eyes, Naruto's face softened and his grip loosened. "You've been crying..."

Gaara tensed and quickly averted his gaze to the ground. "It's nothing."

Naruto frowned, obviously not buying it. "Did what Temari-san say...really bother you that much?"

A lump formed in Gaara throat at his question and he felt cold again. The sand demon's face confirmed Naruto's suspicions. Gaara didn't want to be anything like his father, and Naruto wanted to know why. He glanced down at the sand demon's shirtless form and a question tumbled from his lips before he could stop it.

"Gaara, how did you get those scars?"

Gaara's whole body immediately went stiff and shock was evident in his eyes. Of all the questions, why did Naruto have to ask _that_?

"I was a clumsy child." Gaara muttered, shifting his weight slightly. Ryo jumped down from the bed and pressed up next to his leg, trying to ease some of his stress.

Naruto frowned and crossed his arms. "Gaara, it's no secret that I'm not the smartest person in the world, but I'm _not _stupid. You're a _demon__._ Mere clumsiness isn't enough to leave lasting scars like that. And from what I can see, they're not self inflicted," Naruto's expression was dead serious and determined. "I wouldn't ask if I didn't care about you, Gaara. Who did it?"

Gaara clenched his fists and dug his nails into his palms. It wasn't noticeable to the naked eye, but he was trembling. He was completely torn. He wanted so badly to tell Naruto, his best demon friend, about what his asshole of a father had done to him his entire childhood. If he knew, then Gaara might finally have someone to talk to about it. Ryo was fantastic and caring, but it wasn't the same as comfort from another person. There was only one thing holding him back.

Naruto was one to take action, and he would no doubt go to the authorities. If his father was arrested, then there would be no one to pay for Temari and Kankuro's schooling. No one to send them money for food and clothes. While Gaara wanted nothing more than to see his father rot in jail, he wanted his siblings to live an easy, happy life more. He wouldn't ruin their lives for his own selfish reasons.

"Leave." Gaara muttered quietly, keeping his eyes trained on the floor.

Naruto frowned and asked, "What?"

Gaara grit his teeth and could feel a bit of blood dripping from his palm. "I said, _leave_." He hissed.

The fox demon looked slightly taken aback by Gaara's hostility. Then, he clenched his fists and stood his ground.

"Not until you tell me who hurt you!"

Gaara swallowed and his breathing quickened. It was obvious Naruto wanted answers, but he just couldn't tell him. The sand demon took a deep breath and prepared for the pain that was about to rip through his throat.

"_GET __OUT__!" _Gaara screamed, his body openly trembling now. " _GET __OUT__! __NOW__!"_

Naruto stood in shock and took a small step back. He'd never heard Gaara scream before, and at first he thought the redhead was angry, but as he studied the sand demon, he realized that Gaara was more upset and conflicted than anything.

Naruto sighed and backed up to the door. "Alright, I'll leave. But, Gaara?"

The redhead looked up, confused by Naruto's calm tone.

"If you ever need someone to talk to, my ears are always open." With that, Naruto smiled at him and left quietly.

And for the third time that day, Gaara cried.

~~~~~~~CRIMSON SANDS~~~~~~

Neji Hyuga hummed in thought as he drummed his fingers against the book in his lap. He was sitting on the beach, an umbrella hovering over him with his two best friends laying next to him. Shino was sleeping, his entire body lying in the shade. Sasuke was half sitting, half lying in a beach chair as he observed the other creatures on the beach.

"A penny for your thoughts?" Sasuke asked, finally fed up with the sorcery demon's incessant tapping.

Neji looked at him and gave a small grin. "Why give me a penny when I could tell you for free?"

Sasuke snorted and rolled his eyes, folding his arms behind his head. "Just spit it out already. What's on your mind?"

Neji chuckled and brushed some of his long hair behind his ear. "The same thing that's been on my mind for the past couple of months; a certain fiery redhead."

Sasuke grinned and said, "Right. Your little spitfire. What'd he do this time?"

The sorcery demon hummed as a frown crossed his elegant features. "It not exactly what he did, but more of what some _else _did to _him_."

"Oh?" Sasuke raised an inquisitive eyebrow. "Do tell."

Neji sighed and ran a hand through his silky locks. "I ran into him at Byakugan last night. He was crying, and you'll never believe who was with him."

"Suigetsu?"

Neji blanched and stared at his raven-haired friend. "How do you know that?"

Sasuke shrugged and stretched. He crossed his ankles and leaned back in his chair. "The cocky bastard is going around telling everyone. He keeps bragging about how he got to go on a date with the 'unapproachable Gaara Sabaku'."

While Neji's appearance on the outside stayed stoic and composed, his temper flared from within. That worthless little _wraith _had been going around and basically staking claim to his precious redhead? He would certainly have to fix this.

"Gaara will not be pleased if he hears of this." Neji mused out loud, watching as a group of werewolves started up a game of football.

Sasuke chuckled and raised an eyebrow. "You think? Once he's done with him, you won't even have to worry about kicking his ass in a dominant fight. Gaara will have already done it for you."

The sorcery demon laughed at this and shook his head. "He amazes me so often. I can't wait to see what he's like once he's mastered all his skills." Movement at his side caught his attention and he saw Shino slowly rising from his slumber.

"I still don't understand what you see in him." Sasuke said, scratching his nose.

Neji chuckled and folded his hands in his lap. "The same thing _you _see in that blonde idiot. They're unique. Unlike everyone else in this school, they care about our status or looks. They don't follow us around like dogs. No pun intended, Shino."

Shino shrugged his shoulders and even grinned a bit, though it was hard to see due to his collar.

"Not only is Gaara smart and defiant," Neji continued. "He's challenging and...adorable in a way."

"Adorable?" Shino asked quietly, raising an eyebrow.

Neji nodded and grinned. "Yes, adorable. I think it's because he's so small and frail, but somehow he manages to contain so much strength. And then there's his eyes. I think I can honestly say that I've never seen a more beautiful pair of eyes in my life."

Sasuke scowled at him and crossed his arms. "Have you not seen Naruto's eyes?"

A laugh escaped the sorcery demon's lips. "Yes, I have. But that's your _own _taste, Sasuke. Speaking of your taste, isn't that your little fox over there?" He pointed down the beach.

Sasuke swiveled his head around and grinned when he saw a familiar head of blonde hair. Though after watching him for a few seconds, he frowned.

Naruto was walking across the beach with his head down, his usual spring missing in his step. Sasuke frowned deeper when he realized that the blonde was headed towards Kiba. After a quick glance, he saw that Shino was frowning too.

"Why don't you two just talk to them about it?" Neji asked with a raised eyebrow.

Sasuke huffed and stood up. "I _did _try talking to Naruto. All he did was start screaming at me and then he punched me in the face! _Again__!"_ He frowned and crossed his arms. "The one thing I didn't get, though, was when he said that there was something I didn't know about him and Kiba, and that he couldn't say anything then."

Neji hummed and watch the duo before speaking again. "Well I think that's the least of your worries now. Naruto looks pretty upset."

Sasuke turned his gaze back to his blonde and agreed. He _did_ look upset. He was talking to Kiba hurriedly and running his hand through his blonde spikes. They all watched closely and Neji managed to make out a word from Naruto's lips.

"They're talking about Gaara." He said skeptically.

As they watched, Kiba began talking frantically and tugging on Naruto's arm, but Naruto just shook his head and smiled. Neji focused on their lips, trying to make out what they were saying.

"Neji-kun!" Came a happy voice from behind him. Immediately, the trio knew who it was.

Neji sighed in annoyance but put on a polite smile before looking over his shoulder. "Tenten-san. What can I do for you?"

Tenten and a few other girls smiled brightly at him, hopeful expressions on their faces. "We were wondering if you would like to eat lunch with us today!"

Before he could decline, Sasuke nudged him with his elbow. The cursed demon grinned at him and raised an eyebrow. He knew exactly what that look meant. It was time to start letting people know he was no longer available.

"I'm sorry girls, but I'm already eating lunch with someone else." Neji said nonchalantly.

A few of the girls gasped quietly and Tenten frowned in confusion. "What? With who?"

"With Gaara Sabaku," Neji said simply, a smile on his face. "He's the one I shall be courting when the mating season starts."

Now, all the girls gasped, some looking shocked while others looked angry.

"_Gaara__?_" Tenten asked with a scowl. "Why would you want to court him? He's rude and he's even attacked you!"

Neji scowled and slowly got up from his seat before gracefully walking towards the girls. "Perhaps you didn't hear me," he said in a disturbingly calm voice. "I said that I'm going to be courting Gaara this mating season. So I would _highly _appreciate it if you wouldn't _insult _him."

The girls shrank back slightly, unsure of the sorcery demon's hostility.

"S-sorry, Neji-kun." Tenten said quietly.

The polite smile made it's way back to Neji's face, and he dismissed them with a wave of his hand. He looked back to his two friends and grinned as the bell for 1st period rang.

"I guess I should go see my little raccoon about a lunch date."

~~~~~~~~Crimson Sands~~~~~~~~

Gaara sighed as he walked into his Weaponry class. He expected the seat next to Naruto to be taken, but was surprised when the blonde smiled at him motioned to the empty seat next to him. Gaara had no idea why the blonde wasn't angry with him for last night, but he wouldn't dwell on it.

"Hey, Gaara," Naruto grinned as he sat down. "I thought I wouldn't see you today since you weren't in Anatomy."

Gaara shrugged and laid his head on the table. "I was feeling a bit sick, but it passed."

"Oh? Are you alright, Gaara?" Came a silky voice from above them.

Scowling, Gaara turned around and glared at a smiling Neji. "I'm fine. Not that it's any of your concern."

Neji raised an elegant eyebrow and his face turned serious. "I'll always be concerned about you, Gaara."

Heat rose to the sand demon's cheeks and he quickly turned around. Naruto snickered and Gaara glared at him.

"Ok guys, settle down, alright?" Asuma said as he walked into the classroom. A man walked in behind him that made Gaara green in the face. The man looked exactly like _Lee__!_

"As most of you know," Asuma continued. "This is Gai-sensei. He's in charge of the Martial Arts class. For the next few weeks, we'll be taking you all out to the beach and we'll observe each of you in one-on-one fights. Some of you will fight once, some of you will fight more than once. Gai." He nodded towards the other man.

Gai grinned widely, flashing everyone his pearly white teeth. "HELLO YOUTHFUL STUDENTS!" He yelled, striking a pose. Gaara swore that at that moment, he became deaf and blind. "I AM MAITO GAI AND I LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU ALL! WE WILL RANDOMLY CHOOSE TWO STUDENTS TO FIGHT AND SHOW OFF THEIR GLORIOUS SKILLS!"

"Right," Asuma nodded and crossed his arms. "You may use whatever skills you have win. To win, one student must either give up or be knocked unconscious. The only two rules are; no cheating, and _no_attempts at killing. So don't do anything stupid. At the end of two weeks, we will choose five students to be moved to the advanced class, where you'll get to battle against students from other schools. Does everyone understand?" He watched everyone nod and mutter. "Good. Gai, announce the first competitors."

Gai grinned widely and practically danced over to the computer before typing a few things in.

"OUR FIRST YOUTHFUL CHALLENGER IS GAARA SABAKU!"

Gaara's head made a dull thunk as it hit the desk.

_Fuck __my __life__. _He thought bitterly.

"OUR SECOND YOUTHFUL CHALLENGER IS...!"

_Don__'__t __be __Neji__. __Please__, _don't _be __Neji_.

"NARUTO UZUMAKI!"

Gaara's head shot up and opened his mouth at the same time as Naruto.

"Huh?"

**End ****of ****Chapter**** 12! **

**I ****feel ****as ****though ****this ****chapter ****kind ****of ****sucked****. :****I**

**Sorry ****if ****it ****did****! ****Next ****one ****will ****be ****MUCH ****better****! ****I ****promise****!**

**Don****'****t ****forget ****to ****vote ****please****! ****X****3**

**PLEASE ****REVIEW****, ****TOO****! :****D**


	13. A YOUTHFUL BATTLE

**Hey ****guys****!**

**Are ****you ****all ****as ****pumped ****for ****Naruto ****and ****Gaara****'****s ****fight ****as ****I ****am****?! ****XD**

**I****'****ll ****let ****you ****in ****on ****something****...: ****I ****have ****no ****idea ****who****'****s ****going ****to ****win ****the ****fight****.**

**I ****know ****what ****you****'****re ****thinking****!: **_**"**__**HOW **__**DO **__**YOU **__**NOT **__**KNOW**__**?!" **_

**Well****, ****it****'****s ****because ****I****'****m ****making ****it ****up ****as ****I ****go ****along ****so ****it****'****s ****just ****kinda ****gonna ****flow ****out ****until ****the ****result ****happens****! **

**Alright****, ****and ****here ****are ****the ****voting ****results ****so ****far ****for ****my ****next ****fanfiction****!**

_**SasukeXNaruto**__**- **__**An **__**Assassin**__**'**__**s **__**Lust **_**has**** 11 ****votes****!**

_**SasoriXDeidara**__**- **__**Circus **__**of **__**Desires **_**has**** 7 ****votes****!**

_**ShizuoXIzaya**__**- **__**A **__**Dangerous**__**, **__**Playful **__**Game **_**has**** 5 ****votes****!**

**And **_**VladXDanny**__**- **__**A **__**Challenge **__**for **__**a **__**Prize **_**has**** 0 ****votes****!**

**Soooooo****, ****as ****you ****can ****see****, **_**SasukeXNaruto**__**- **__**An **__**Assassin**__**'**__**s **__**Lust **_**is ****the ****winner****! ****XD ****First ****chapter ****should ****be ****up ****within ****the ****next ****two ****weeks****, ****so ****keep ****an ****eye ****out****!**

**Alright****, ****ONWARD ****TO ****THY ****STORY****!**

The Weaponry class trailed slowly behind Asuma and Gai-sensei. As the student tread outside to the beach, they all talked about the fight that would take place in a few minutes between Naruto and Gaara. It was obvious to everyone how close the two had become in the past couple of months, and they were all interested in seeing how the fight would play out. Naruto and Gaara were in the very back of the group, walking in silence.

"Don't hold back." Gaara muttered, staring straight ahead.

Naruto looked at him. "Eh?"

The group came to a stopping point and Gaara fully turned towards the blonde. "You said that when we first met, you wanted to train with me and see what I can do. So don't hold back, because I won't."

Naruto grinned widely and nodded.

"Naruto and Gaara! Up front!" Asuma called.

The two friends walked forward and stood in front of the two teachers. Asuma and Gai studied them for a few minutes, scribbling a couple of things down on a clipboard.

"Alright boys," Asuma motioned to the large expansion of beach in front of them. "Go and stand a few feet apart, wait for our signal, and then begin. Do you remember the rules?" Both boys nodded. Asuma smiled and pulled out a cigarette, lighting it before placing it between his lips. Some students scowled at his distasteful habit, but he blatantly ignored them. "Good. You'll have till the end of class."

The two demons walked out onto the beach and made sure they were a good distance away from each other. The main thing they were aware of was the eyes of their peers as they watched intently. Once the two were facing each other and standing still, Gai rose his hand high and grinned widely.

"MY YOUTHFUL STUDENTS!" Gai boomed, causing most of the class to wince. "YOU HAVE AN HOUR AND FORTY-FIVE MINUTES TO DAZZLE US WITH YOUR YOUTHFUL ABILITIES! YOU MAY _BEGIN__!_" He brought his hand down in a large sweeping motion.

Naruto grinned and laid a hand on his hip while the other one came up to point at his redheaded friend. "Alright, Gaara! Show me what you've got! You told me not to hold back so I can promise you that I wo- OOMPH!"

One minute Naruto was talking, the next his body was skipping across the beach like a stone across water. His body finally slid to stop and every student, along with Asuma and Gai, fell completely silence. They stared at the blonde's body for a few seconds before slowly turning their gaze to Gaara. He was standing in the exact same position that he'd started in, his arms crossed over his chest, in a bored position. The only difference was the determined, calculating look in his eyes.

Naruto groaned and slowly got to his hands and knees before standing up completely. He rolled his neck and then looked at Gaara, a curious expression on his face.

"How...did you do that?"

Gaara said nothing. His body remained still as he continued to fix Naruto with his sharp gaze. He had no trouble keeping a calm composure. One good thing about keeping to himself was that no one knew what his abilities were. This gave him two advantages. One; the element of surprise. And two; the fact that no one knew that one of his strongest weapons was covering the ground for miles around. Most everyone knew he was the Raccoon Demon, but only his siblings knew he was also a sand demon.

Naruto waited for his response and grinned widely when one never came. "Alright, be like that."

Gaara didn't even blink as the blonde jerked forward and was suddenly in front of him, fist raised. As soon as his fist came forward, a crescent of sand leap from the ground. Naruto grunted in slight pain as his fist made contacts with the wall of sand and quickly drew back. He jumped back a few feet and studied his friend's unmoving form.

_He__'__s __also __a __sand __demon__?_ Naruto thought, pursing his lips. His was definitely at a disadvantage.

With the ground being nothing _but _sand, he didn't stand a chance at winning. Not only would Gaara be able to block all of his attacks, he would be able to attack relentlessly and from any angle. To win, he would need to get rid of the sand.

_Yup__. __I__'__m __screwed__._

Naruto grunted in surprise as something came hurtling towards him and jumped out of the way in time for it to embed itself in the ground. He stared at the kunai sticking out of the ground, sand falling off of it. He looked up to Gaara with a huge grin.

This was going to be fun.

Naruto connected his middle and index finger on each hand and brought them together to form a 't'.

"_Shadow __Clone __Jutsu__!_"

**~~~CRIMSON ****SANDS~~~**

Gaara watched in interest as hundreds of Naruto's shadow clones filled the beach, surrounding him at every side. He wasn't worried about them as a challenge, but he knew they would be enough of a distraction for Naruto to sneak his way to the front and attack him. He would have to keep his senses open in order to detect the largest amount of energy when the time came.

When the first wave of clones came at him, Gaara bent down and snapped his wrists up. The sand around him erupted into hundreds of spikes, causing all of the attacking clones, including a few unfortunate clones nearby, to disappear in a cloud of smoke. Gaara slowly straightened back up and crossed his arms, returning to his bored, relaxed position.

Next, two squads came at him. One group ran at him from the front while the other came from the air behind him a few seconds later. Gaara made a quick calculation in his head and decided on what to do. The clones on land, five of them, reached him first and reached out, grabbing the first one by the face. He quickly turned and threw the clone through the air, effectively hitting three other clones. Gaara couldn't turn around fast enough before one of the first sets of clones ran into him. He grunted as he hit the sand and threw his arm out, sending a vine of sand through the clone that hit him before it branched off into different sections, efficiently eliminating the other clones around him. Gaara quickly got back to his feet, ready to send a wave of sand at the next swarm of clones that came after him. He was never that fond of close combat, but that didn't mean he wasn't good at it.

Gaara knew he wouldn't be able to dodge forever, because he truly wanted to win this fight. He wanted be one of the five chosen to be moved to the advanced class. If he achieved this, then he would get to fight students from schools around the world, and if he was lucky, he would get to fight someone from his _old _school. Not only that, but it might possibly get him another class free of Neji Hyuga. That is, if the sorcery demon loses.

_As __if __he __would __lose __to __any __of __these __idiots__._ Gaara thought bitterly.

A foot bulldozing into his stomach quickly brought him out of his thoughts. Gaara let out a grunt of pain as he slid backwards, his hands coming up to catch the real Naruto's ankle in a vice grip. He must have dismissed his clones while he was busy thinking about Neji. Ugh.

"DO NOT LET YOUR YOUTHFUL MIND WANDER, GAARA!" Gai yelled from the sideline, bringing his thumb up in encouragement. Gaara could practically see him sparkling from his peripheral vision. Ick.

The sand demon growled at being reprimanded. In his mind, it was Neji's fault for forcing his way into his thoughts. Thinking quickly, a stream of sand came up to join Gaara's hands as they threw Naruto to the side, sending him into the ocean. Gaara heard a few 'Oooh's along with a distinct snicker that caused him to scowl.

Naruto jumped from the water a few second later, his feet landing on the swaying surface. He shook some of the wet sand from his hair and studied Gaara, who was still standing on the beach. As more sand dripped from his hair and fell into the water with a _plop_, it hit him.

_Wet __sand__. _

How would Gaara fare if all the sand on the beach was wet and clumped together? Would he have less control over it? Would he have _any _control of it? Well, _he __was __about __to __find __out__._

Luckily, one of Naruto's two strong elements was water. But, it would still be a task trying to cover the _entire _beach with water. Nevertheless, he would make it happen.

Naruto took a deep breath and let himself sink into the water up to his waist, successfully submerging his hands into the salty ocean water. He focused large bursts of energy into his hands and then released them into the water in long streams. Eventually, the water closest to the beach began to draw back towards him, like it would before a tsunami.

A frown slowly formed on Gaara's face as he watched the water crawl back before stopping at Naruto. He glanced at the blonde's hands through the water, taking note of blue light that flowed around them.

"What are you up to?" Gaara muttered, narrowing his eyes.

**~~~CRIMSON ****SANDS~~~**

Sasuke's calculating eyes quickly began to break down the logic behind what Naruto was doing. After the blonde had come out of the water, Sasuke noticed the intelligent spark in his eyes. Once Naruto had started to the water towards him, the cursed demon realized what he was going to try to do and couldn't stop the smirk that crossed his features.

"Pretty smart, don't you think?"

Sasuke turned his dark, midnight orbs towards Neji. He could tell by the look on the Hyuga's face that he was aware of the blonde's plan as well.

"For him." Sasuke chuckled and leaned back on one of the metal tables that were scattered along the beach. After the first couple of minutes into the fight, they'd moved away from the other students to watch.

An amused snort passed Neji lips. He turned his eyes to Gaara as the redhead cautiously watched his friend. Gaara had never seen Naruto train, so he had no way of knowing what was about to hit him. Speaking of which...

Naruto grunted loudly as he raised his arms above his head, feeling the weight of the water's power. The water rose with his arms, and Gaara realized what was about to happen about a millisecond too late. As the fox demon threw his arms in front of him, the large wave jerked forwards, sending water all across the beach while successfully drenching Gaara and the other students. Once the water receded, Gaara was left sputtering and coughing on his back. He had tried to throw up a wall of sand, but when the water hit it, it was easily washed away. The sand demon finished coughing up all the water in his lungs and rose to his feet, shivering slightly from the cold that had seeped into his clothing due to the water. He looked up and frowned in irritation when he saw Naruto standing at the ocean's edge, dry and grinning like an idiot.

Suddenly, Naruto was running at him. Gaara jerked back in surprise when the blonde appeared in front of him, quickly bringing his arms up for a sand wall. A small wave of panic hit him when a bit of sand jumped from the ground before crumbling only a second later. He grunted when pain exploded in his cheek, and then he was soaring through the air. The useless sand broke his fall.

Gaara growled, his hand nursing his cheek, as he looked up from the ground. Even though he was now a fair distance away, his teal eyes met Naruto's ocean blue ones. The blonde wanted an actual fight. Gaara scowled and slowly stood up. He really didn't want to fight without his sand, but he didn't have much of a choice. He can't afford to look weak. Especially in front of _him__._

With an irritated growl, Gaara began walking forward. A few students began to whisper amongst themselves, wondering why the redhead was being so calm. Even Naruto was uneasy, crouching down into a defensive stance as Gaara approached him. Once they were standing in front of each other, the sand demon balled his hands into fists. Naruto's eyes widened as he felt his feet become constricted, and he looked down to see wet sand crawling up his feet and clumping together, glueing his feet to the ground.

Naruto grinned and glared playfully at his friend. "You sly asshole."

Gaara chuckled lowly before drawing his foot back. As his foot came up and slammed into Naruto's stomach, he released the sand around the blonde's feet, sending him high into the air. Gaara sent a burst of energy from his feet to the sand, sending him through the air as well. When he was even with Naruto's body, he lifted his foot to kick him back down to the ground. His plan was cut short, though, when his foot was grabbed and their positions were switched. A second later they were soaring back towards the ground. Gaara grunting when he was turned onto his stomach and his arms were forced behind his back. He estimated he had about 20 seconds before his face would meet the ground. He kicked back, hoping to nail Naruto in the legs or crotch, and hissed when he met nothing but air. He looked back down at the ground and the only thing he could.

He braced for impact.

Gaara grunted loudly as his body crashed into the wet sand, which felt more like concrete due to how wet it was. A collective amount of gasps and hisses could be heard from the students watching, including a 'That had to hurt' remark. Gaara grunted in relief when he felt Naruto's weight leave him.

_**Gaara**__**!**_

Gaara scowled deeply as a familiar voice entered his head; one that wasn't Neji's.

_**Let **__**me **__**out **__**you **__**little **__**idiot**__**! **__**I **__**can **__**help**__**!**_

A hiss escaped Gaara's lips as a small burning sensation made itself present in his stomach, like someone was pressing against it. In actuality, it was some_thing_ that was pressing against his stomach. The sand demon groaned as he slowly stood up, letting a small part of his thoughts float into his subconscious.

_Shut __up__. __I __don__'__t __need __you__, __Shukaku__. _

A small, tan raccoon with purple markings covering its body appeared before him, a frown on its face. Gaara knew, of course, that he was the only one who could see it. It was just an image being projected from his mind. Its mouth didn't move, but he knew that it was the one speaking.

_**Of **__**course **__**you **__**do**__**! **__**You**__**'**__**re **__**going **__**to **__**get **__**your **__**ass **__**kicked**__**! Come on, just let me out for a few minutes!**_

Gaara scowled and refused to look at the raccoon, focusing his eyes on his blonde friend.

Naruto _isn__'__t __using _his _demon__. _Gaara argued with the creature inside him.

Naruto charged at him but didn't catch him by surprise. Gaara quickly turned to the side and, grabbing the blonde by the back of the neck, slammed him down onto the ground. Not missing a beat, Naruto managed to raised his legs and wrap them around the redhead's torso before slinging him a few feet away. Luckily, Gaara managed to land on his feet.

_**You**__**'**__**re **__**right**__**, **__**but **__**he **_**is **_**talking **__**to **__**him**__**.**_

Gaara frowned at the raccoon before turning to watch Naruto closely. Sure enough, the blonde didn't seem as focused, like something was distracting him. Naruto looked down at the ground and glared at seemingly nothing.

_**He**__**'**__**s **__**arguing **__**with **__**Kyuubi**__**! **__**Attack **__**him **_**now****!**

If it wasn't for the fact that there wasn't much time left, Gaara would have refused. Taking orders from the demon that resided inside him made him feel like he had no control over what he did. Despite that, he ran forward with a burst of speed, hoping to catch the blonde off-guard. Naruto wasn't as distracted as he had thought, though, and ran forward as well. Neither of them stopped. It was when they were nearly right in front of each other that Naruto's foot caught on a hardened clump of sand, sending his body flying towards his redheaded friend. Gaara tried to stop, his feet skidding against the sand, but couldn't get enough footing. Naruto slammed into Gaara, their foreheads knocking together hard enough to be heard from a distance, and they both crashed into the sand. This, of course, earned an eruption of laughter from the other students. Naruto laid on top of Gaara, his face pressed against the redhead's shoulder, and a groan of pain escaped their mouths at the same time.

The bell rang a few seconds later, signaling the end of class. Everyone looked expectantly at Asuma and Gai, except for Naruto and Gaara who were still laying on the ground, their foreheads throbbing. The two teachers spoke quietly together for a few seconds before Asuma turned to the students and crossed his arms.

"It's a tie!"

A few of the students clapped while others began walking back to their dorms, uninterested. Naruto groaned against Gaara's shoulder, not bothering to get up.

"A tie," he muttered. "I can live with that."

Gaara grunted in agreement. He felt a small amount of relief when he no longer heard Shukaku in his head. "Your tailed demon talks to you, too." It wasn't a question.

Naruto tried to nod, but it hurt too much when his forehead rubbed again the smaller demon's shoulder. "Yeah, but only when I'm training or fighting. You?"

"...Same."

"Ahem."

Gaara slowly opened his eyes, Naruto not bothering to roll over, and glared at the silhouette above him.

"What do you want, Hyuga?" Gaara hissed, gently nudging his blonde friend off of him.

Neji smiled, amusement evident in his eyes. "First of all, I would like congratulate you on your fight. Very well done," he spoke in his smooth, hypnotic voice. "Second, I would like to request something of you."

Gaara said nothing as he slowly rose from the ground, dragging Naruto up with him. He didn't feel nearly as irritated at the sorcery demon's presence as he usually did, probably because he just worked off a lot of stress. In fact, he actually felt somewhat at ease standing in front of the taller teen.

"Well, what is it?" Gaara crossed his arms and stared expectantly at the pale-eyed demon.

Neji raised an elegant eyebrow at the redhead's lack of anger, and his smile seemed to brighten somewhat.

"I was wondering if you would accompany me to lunch today. I'm willing to take you anywhere you want," Gaara opened his mouth to say no, but Neji quickly held up a hand to indicate he wasn't finished speaking. "I realize that you would never go unless you obtain something from it, so I'd like to make you an offer."

Gaara frowned slightly and glanced at Naruto before looking back to Neji. "What?"

Neji hummed and tilted his head to the side questioningly. "Are you in a good mood today, Gaara? You seem to be lacking your usual hostility."

A glare quickly formed on the redhead's face, causing Neji to chuckle.

"There it is. Now, about my offer," Neji's voice lost it's teasing tone, and took on a more serious one. "In exchange for your company, I will sign over one of the Hyuga storage houses downtown to you. I figured that you could use it as an...art studio."

Gaara's eyes widened slowly and he couldn't ignore the bolt of excitement that shot up his spine. His own art studio? He'd been saving up money since he was twelve to buy one, and here it was being served to him on a silver platter. All he had to do was get through lunch with Neji. As much as the othe demon irritated him, the answer was obvious.

"Okay."

"WHAT?!" Naruto screamed as he stared at his best friend in disbelief. It was obvious that Gaara disliked the sorcery demon, so why the hell would he agree?

Neji seemed surprised as well, for he asked, "Are you sure?"

Gaara glared at him and crossed his arms. "I'm only doing it for the art studio, Asshole. Don't make me reconsider."

"Very well," Neji chuckled, satisfied with that answer. He picked up Gaara's hand and placed a small kiss to the back of it, earning a snarl from the redhead. "Meet me in front of the educations building after this period. You can tell me where you'd like to go then."

Gaara hissed and snatched his hand back, ignoring the warmth that lingered on it. "Fine."

The Hyuga chuckled at his sassy attitude before turning to leave for his next class. Gaara muttered incoherently as he grabbed Naruto's wrist and dragged the gawking boy inside the school.

Today was going to be a long day.

**End ****of ****Chapter**** 13! ****X****3**

**Hope ****you ****guys ****liked ****it****!**

**Ohohoho~ ****Next ****chapter ****Neji ****and ****Gaara ****are ****going ****on ****a ****date****! ****XD ****And ****Gaara****'****s ****getting ****an ****art ****studio****! :****D**

**PLEASE ****REVIEW****! **


	14. A Hot Date

**Hey ****guys****! :)**

**Sorry ****I ****haven****'****t ****updated ****in ****awhile****! ****Good ****news ****though ****X****3 ****I****'****m ****now ****on ****SUMMER ****BREAK****! ****So ****updates ****will ****be ****happening ****A ****LOT ****more ****frequently ****now****! :****D**

**Also****, ****the ****first ****chapter ****of ****An ****Assassin****'****s ****Lust ****has ****been ****posted****! ****So ****if ****you****'****re ****a ****SasuNaru ****fan ****please ****go ****read ****it~**

**Anyways****! ****Hereeeee ****we ****go****!**

Gaara kept his facial expression stoic and composed as he left his Art class. While his face remained unreadable, anxiety tossed and turned inside his stomach with every step he took. He usually looked forward to lunch because he would get to spend a bit of time with Naruto and the others. Now, though, he had to each lunch with Neji Hyuga; something he wasn't looking forward to in the slightest. To be honest, he was even a bit nervous. He usually had one of his friends around to back him up in case he needed it but now he would be left alone with the white eyed bastard.

"Gaara!"

The sand demon nearly jumped as a loud voice brought him out of his thoughts. Looking to the side he found Naruto staring at him with frown.

"What?" Gaara asked with an invisible eyebrow raised, as if he didn't know what was troubling the blonde.

"Don't you 'what' me!" Naruto yelled while grabbing the redhead's shoulders, successfully halting his steps. "What were you thinking, agreeing to eat lunch with Neji?! You don't trust him and neither do I! Seriously, what-"

Gaara placed a firm hand over him mouth and stated simply, "I'm getting an art studio, that's all that matters."

Naruto's eyes narrowed and he pushed the sand demon's hand away gently. "No it isn't! Gaara, what if he tries something? I won't be there to help!"

A small huff escaped Gaara's lips as he crossed his arms. "I don't need help."

"Yeah, yeah." Naruto waved his hand in a dismissive manner. "You can take care of yourself and all that. It doesn't keep me from worrying! Where are you even going?"

Naruto followed Gaara as he continued his journey down the hallway.

"...Gichi," When he received a raised eyebrow, he decided to elaborate. "Neji's a high-class asshole. I figure going to a low-class cafe will make him squirm a bit."

A brilliant grin broke out over Naruto's face. "You little snake. It's scary how you think of these things."

Gaara hummed in amusement and pushed through the building's doors. His amusement vanished, however, when he spotted Neji talking to Sasuke across the schoolyard. A hand was placed on his shoulder and he looked up at Naruto's worried face.

"I still don't feel comfortable with you going alone."

Gaara gave the blonde a reassuring look before turning his head and whistling sharply. "I won't be alone."

Ryo shot across the schoolyard and was soon resting in Gaara's messy red locks. Naruto laughed and crossed his arms, his body relaxing just a little.

"Alright, I feel a bit better now. Just be sure to text or call me if something goes wrong, ok?" Naruto gave him pleading look that no person with a soul could resist.

Gaara nodded and began heading towards his pale eyed enemy, Naruto watching him the whole way. Neji stopped talking when he noticed the redhead's approach and grinned widely. Sasuke quietly said something to the sorcery demon before walking off.

"Gaara," Neji greeted politely. "I was beginning to think you weren't coming. Ah, and I see you've decided to bring Ryo with you."

Gaara crossed his arms and grunted in response, seeing no reason to actually talk to the other demon. Ryo, on the the other hand, squeaked happily as his tail began to sway back and forth. Neji, not seeming bothered by the lack of response, chuckled softly and began walking towards the parking lot, motioning for the redhead to follow him.

"So, where would you like to go, Gaara? I know of a few nice-"

"Gichi Cafe." Gaara muttered, feeling triumphant when the sorcery demon gave him an irritated look for the interruption.

"Gichi Cafe?" Neji raised a mocking eyebrow, successfully wiping away Gaara's feeling of victory. "You mean that little shack a few blocks from here?"

A small growl escaped the sand demons lips, obviously offended at having his only eating place being called a 'shack'.

Gaara glared at him fiercely, his voice completely serious. "You told me to pick the place, so I did. If you have a problem with it then I'll leave." He turned around just to prove his point and nearly jumped when Neji's hand shot out to grip his arm.

"I never said it was a problem," the sorcery demon stated calmly. "It's just a...different choice than what I'm used to."

Gaara turned back around and met the other demon's gaze challengingly. "Your choice being extravagant and expensive."

Neji's lips curled into a small smile as his eyes remained trained on Gaara's. "I suppose you could say that."

A strange silence invaded the air when neither of them spoke again. It wasn't really uncomfortable, but it wasn't comfortable either. As the silence stretched on, both demons staring at each other, Gaara glanced down at Neji's hand that was still lightly gripping his arm. Realizing that he had yet to let go, Neji cleared his throat and released his grip.

"Well, let's get going shall we?" The sorcery demon smiled as he walked over to a sleek black Camaro, walking over to the passenger's side to open the door.

Gaara raised an invisible eyebrow but said nothing as he walked over and got inside the car. A few seconds later and Neji was seated behind the driver's wheel.

"I'm surprised you drive." Gaara muttered as he put his seatbelt on.

Neji shot him a curious look as he started up the car. "How so?"

Gaara crossed his arms and sunk down in his seat just a little, trying to get more comfortable in the unfamiliar car. "You're rich."

"Are you implying that rich people can't drive?" The sorcery demon asked, the side of his mouth pulling up in a half-smile.

Gaara had to force himself not to snort at the joke. If he had to find one good thing about the bastard, it would have to be his sense of humor. "No," he muttered as if he wasn't amused. "I just figured you had a chauffeur or something that took you wherever you wanted."

Neji chuckled and glanced at the redhead, obviously not buying his passive attitude. "Oh, I do. I decided to get a drivers license because sometimes I just need to get away from everything."

"What do you mean?" Gaara sent him a curious look, slightly put off by the sorcery demon's choice of words.

A thoughtful hum passed Neji's lips as he contemplated on what to say next. "What I mean is that being rich isn't all that it's cracked up to be. Obviously, you think I'm a rich asshole who craves nothing but attention," Gaara opened his mouth to retort but Neji didn't give him a chance. "When in reality, it can be extremely overwhelming."

The sand demon frowned at him, not happy with Neji's sudden cryptic speaking. "And what do you mean by _that_?"

Neji chuckled and glanced at the redhead. Returning his gaze to the road, he purred, "You might find out if you spend more time with me."

At the suggestive tone in the sorcery demon's voice, Gaara felt heat creep up his spine and rest in his cheeks. "Just keep driving." He hissed, turning his head to keep the other demon from seeing his reddened face.

Neji didn't say another word as he continued driving, but the grin on his face spoke volumes.

**~~~CRIMSON ****SANDS~~~**

"Will you sit down already?" Shikamaru asked exasperated. "You're making me tired just by looking at you."

Naruto groaned loudly but stopped his pacing that had been going on for the past five minutes. Him and the gang, minus Gaara, were sitting in their usual spot on the beach while worrying about their redheaded friend.

Plopping down on the sand with a huff, Naruto ran a hand through his blonde spikes and said, "Sorry but I can't help it! I just know that jerk is going to try and do something to Gaara!"

"Like pay for his food?" Choji joked, munching on a bag of chips.

Naruto glared at him and puffed his cheeks out childishly. "Quit joking around, Choji! This might be those jerks trying to get back at us for the cupcake thing!"

"Then why didn't Sasuke and Shino try anything with _us_?" Kiba asked with frown, stroking Akamaru's head affectionately. "If they were going to get revenge then wouldn't they work together? Maybe Neji's honestly interested in a relationship with Gaara?"

At this, everyone with the exception of Shikamaru gave him an odd look. Could someone as rich and narcissistic as Neji have feelings for someone as vicious and quiet as Gaara?

"No way!" Naruto yelled, crossing his arms. "Neji's intentions can't be good! He's been nothing but mean to Gaara from day one and all he does is provoke him!"

Shikamaru sighed and rolled over onto his stomach to glare lazily at the loud blonde. "Says the person who has years of pent up sexual frustration with Uchiha and deals with it through fighting with him."

Naruto's eyes widened slowly as his face turned an impressive shade of red at the shadow demon's comment. What the hell was with that!? His mouth opened and closed dumbly a few times before he finally managed to get a sentence out.

"My fights with the teme have _nothing _to do with _sexual __frustration_!" He hissed, face never losing it's rosy hue.

"Mhm," Shikamaru rested his head on his arms, obviously not convinced. "Try telling that to Uchiha's dick."

"_Shikamaru__!_" Naruto hissed, covering his ears. "Who's side are you on?!"

Muttering something about 'troublesome blondes', the shadow demon rolled over to presumably take a nap. Naruto continued to glare at his back before Kiba caught his attention.

"He has a point." The hell hound muttered.

Naruto slowly turned his head towards the dog lover, his expression dark. "Not you too."

Kiba shrugged and grinned widely at his blonde friend. "Oh come on. If anything, you're at least _physically _attracted to Sasuke. You were practically drooling the last time you saw him with his shirt off-"

"SHUT UP!" Naruto hissed, burying his face in his hands. His friends _were __not _teasing him about being attracted to the teme. And he _was __not _thinking about said teme without a shirt on.

Not. At. All.

**~~~CRIMSON ****SANDS~~~**

Gaara held in a sadistic grin as he and Neji walked through the doors of Gichi. The unsure look on the sorcery demon's face was enough to bring joy to his cruel side. Coming here was definitely a good choice.

Without a word to the other demon, Gaara walked up to the counter. He was pleased to find a different cashier than the grumpy boy that was there the first time he came to Gichi.

"Hi, what can I get you?" The cashier, a young elf boy, asked with a smile.

Not bothering to look at the menu overhead, Gaara muttered, "A small water and...one piece of strawberry mousse cake." He honestly didn't even want to eat, but he knew that Neji would notice if he bought nothing.

The cashier went to the kitchen to retrieve his food before coming back to ring him up. Gaara picked up his small tray and went to one of the two-seater tables near the back, knowing the bastard would follow him in a few minutes. As he sat down, Gaara silently thanked the gods that there was hardly any customers today. The last thing he needed was for a bunch of people to see him with the white-eyed jerk. On the bright side, Neji was being surprisingly...tolerable today.

Gaara was brought out of his musing by another tray being set down and Neji sliding into the seat in front of him. On the sorcery demon's tray was a small cup of some sort of tea and a good sized bowl of garden salad. The redhead scowled at the bowl, unsure of how anyone could eat so much. Gaara raised his drink to his lips before taking a small sip, almost wincing when the cool liquid harshly dropped into his empty stomach.

"Is that all you're eating, Gaara?" Neji asked, raising a curious eyebrow.

Not giving anything away on his face, Gaara calmly replied, "I had a big breakfast." If he had been talking to one of his siblings, they would have picked up on the lie immediately. Gaara _never _ate 'big'.

Neji nodded in reply, seemingly satisfied with his answer despite the disbelieving look in his eyes. As the sorcery demon began eating, Gaara cut off a small piece of his cake that didn't have any chocolate on it. Immediately, Ryo jumped down from his dormant position on the sand demon's head and happily began to nibble on the dessert. As they continued to eat, 'they' being Neji and Ryo, silence once again decided to take up position in the air. This time, though, it was most certainly uncomfortable.

As Gaara continued to take small sips of his water, ignoring the pain that it caused in his stomach, he cast short glances towards his eating companion. What game was the Hyuga trying to play? So far, he had done nothing to really get under the redhead's skin like he usually did. There hadn't even been a perverted remark of any kind. This brought Gaara to a very important question.

_What __the __hell __is __this __bastard __up __to__?_

"Is something wrong, Gaara?" Neji purred, propping his elbow up on the table and resting his head in his hand.

Gaara quickly snapped out of his daze, realizing with dread that sometime during glancing at the sorcery demon, he'd ended up stopping in a full out stare. Instead of glaring, like he knew the bastard wanted him to, Gaara kept his expression blank as he lifted his glass of water to his lips.

"If we're talking about you, then yes. But I don't think there's enough time in the day to list everything that's wrong with you." His expression remained stoic, giving away nothing.

Neji's lips slowly morphed into smirk as he leaned forward slightly, his voice taking on a dangerous tone. "Well then, maybe you can fix me, hm?"

Narcissistic bastard. The words were out before Gaara could stop them.

"Maybe I can."

Both demons went deathly silent, surprised pearl orbs clashing with confused teal. Slowly, the surprise in Neji's eyes was replaced with a smouldering emotion that Gaara couldn't quite identify.

And quite frankly, he didn't want to.

"Why Gaara," the sorcery demon purred, lacing his hands together under his chin. "Could it be that you're flirting with me?" The delight in his voice could hardly be dismissed.

Oh hell no. Gaara was not going let Neji take control of this conversation by turning him into a flustered idiot. This time he was going to fight back a little.

With a glare, Gaara crossed his arms and muttered in his usual monotone, "And if I was?"

Gaara swore that Neji's gaze went up in temperature, and he couldn't deny the burst of heat the shot down his spine at the look he received. Neji slowly lowered his arms, folding them on the table so could lean forward just a bit more.

"You shouldn't tempt me, _Gaara_," Neji purred quietly, causing another rush of heat to make it's way down the redhead's spine. "Remember that I'll be the one driving you back to school, and it wouldn't take much for my car to 'break down'."

Shit. Maybe fighting back wasn't the best of ideas. Deciding that the gig was up, Gaara set his signature glare into place.

"I swear I can feel my IQ dropping whenever you open your mouth."

Neji chuckled, smirk still set firmly in place. "That's not very nice, Gaara. I'm sure you know that I'm _very _intelligent."

Narrowing his eyes in irritation, Gaara hissed, "I've yet to see any actual proof of that."

"I managed to get you to come on a date with me, didn't I?"

Shit, he was right. To get Gaara Sabaku to go on a date with someone, they _had _to be smart. When Gaara didn't reply, the sorcery demon grinned triumphantly. Ignoring the bastard's grin, Gaara picked up a small piece of cake with his fork and shoved it into his mouth. He regretted it as soon as the cake slid down his throat and landed painfully in his stomach. It felt like someone had punched him straight through the stomach, and Gaara had to force himself from hunching over in pain.

Noticing the uncomfortable grimace on Gaara's face, Neji frowned and reached forward to touch the redhead's shoulder. "Gaara, are you alright?"

Startled by the gentleness of the sorcery demon's voice, Gaara jerked his shoulder back and hissed, "I'm fine."

Neji studied him closely before slowly sitting back, silently returning to his salad. Silence once again enveloped them as Gaara pushed more of his cake towards Ryo and Neji continued to eat. It was a while before Neji decided it was safe to talk to the sand demon without fear of getting his vital regions torn off.

"May I ask you a question, Gaara?"

Gaara slowly lifted his eyes from Ryo and settled them on the sorcery demon. "Go ahead. Even if I said no, I'm sure you'd ask anyways."

The sides of Neji's mouth twitched up in amusement. "You're right, I would have."

Teal eyes glared at him in irritation. "Just ask your question."

"Why will you not let me court you?"

Gaara fell silent at this question, it successfully taking him by surprise. He tossed the sorcery demon's question around in his head for a moment before he felt that he was ready to speak.

"You are a jerk to me and my friends. You're arrogance pisses me off. I'll admit that your physical appearance is attractive but your personality pisses me off enough to override that fact."

Neji hummed and laced his fingers together before resting his chin on them. "All right, I can see how you'd think all that about me, but now I want to ask you another question," the sorcery demon's pearly eyes turned intensely serious as he studied Gaara. "Why do you _think _I want to court you?"

Gaara frowned as he absorbed the other's question. Ever since Neji announced his intentions of courting the redhead, Gaara hadn't bothered to consider the actual reason behind it. Neji obviously wasn't after power or money, since he already had that, and he certainly didn't want to court him because of his looks. That didn't leave much.

"You're doing it to mess with me." Gaara muttered, glaring at the other demon challengingly.

Now, it was Neji's turn to glare. "To _mess _with you? Gaara, do you honestly think that I would be willing to go through a process that would lead to me spending the rest of my life with you, just to _mess _with you?"

Neji's words hit Gaara like a sack of bricks, and he found himself unable to speak. In a normal situation he would dismiss the sorcery demon's words as lies, but the truth in Neji's voice rang sharply in his ears. The bastard actually wanted to court him. Wanted to actually _be _with him and _care _for him.

And now Gaara felt extremely uncomfortable. And when did the table get so small? Their chairs suddenly seemed _much _closer together. And-

"Get your foot _off _my leg." Gaara hissed.

Neji chuckled in amusement and slowly lowered the tip of his foot back to the floor. "I'm sorry, Gaara, but you seemed to be lost in thought. I figured that I would bring you back down to earth."

"Shut up," Gaara muttered, glaring at the other demon. "Give me five good reasons why I should even consider letting you court me."

A playful gleam shone in the Neji's eye as he grinned at the smaller demon. "Alright then. Number one; I'm a mental challenge for you. You may deny it, but I know you enjoy our word play, Gaara."

Neji tilted his head to the side and Gaara watched as long, silky strands of brown hair fell over the sorcery demon's shoulder.

"Number two," Gaara turned his eyes back to Neji's face, taking note of his smug expression. "You find me to be attractive, even if it's mostly physical attraction," Neji glanced down at his empty bowl and Gaara's empty plate before standing up. "Shall we head back to the car?"

"What about the other three reasons?" Gaara asked as he slowly rose from his seat, gently placing Ryo on his head.

Neji stood up and waited for Gaara to start heading towards the door before following. "Reason three; despite what you may think, we are very compatible. I find it easy to see what irritates you and what pleases you," Neji strode forward and pushed open the store's door for the redhead, earning a glare in return. "Number four; once we are mated, I can easily provide for all of our needs. If you want to work, I understand, but all I'm saying is that you _wouldn__'__t _have to work."

As they walked outside and to Neji's car, Gaara placed his hand on the door hand and yanked, grunting in irritation once he realized it was locked. As he continued to tug lightly at the handle, Ryo squeaked and hopped onto the top of the car, his tail swaying back and forth happily. The redhead froze when a hand reached around him and placed itself on top of his, followed by the obvious sound of the car being unlocked. Gaara slowly began to turn around and nearly jumped when he found that Neji's face was right next to his.

"Number five," Neji purred lowly in his ear, sending small bolts of electricity shooting down his spine. "At the end of the courting process, I can assure you that I will _not _disappoint."

Gaara's face slowly turned a light shade of red and he growled in irritation. Before he could let out a slew of insults, Neji lunged forward and caught the redhead's lips with his own. Startled, Gaara whirled around, forgetting that Neji's left hand was still firmly wrapped around his, and successfully wrapped the sorcery demon's arm around him, trapping him.

Seeing his chance, Neji slipped his hand from Gaara's and wrapped it tightly around the redhead's thin waist before backing him into the car. Gaara growled against the taller demon's lips and pushed at his chest, trying to get him to back off. He let out a surprised yelp when Neji nipped at his bottom lip, giving the sorcery demon access to his mouth. A shudder passed through Gaara's body as Neji's slipped his tongue into his mouth, followed by a now familiar mint flavor. Gaara made a small sound of protest and tried to turn his head to side, only to have a warm hand place itself on the back of his neck that prevented him from doing so. Neji tilted his head to the side for better access and slowly ran his tongue along the roof of Gaara's mouth, pleased when the redhead tensed and let out shaky breath. As Neji continued to tease and massage the sand demon's mouth, he slowly began to stroke the nape of Gaara's neck in hopes to calm him down a bit. The reaction he got was _not _expected.

_Is __he__...__purring__?_ Neji thought incredulously.

Sure enough, there was a small, rhythmic rumble coming from Gaara's throat as the sorcery demon continued to stroke the back of his head. Neji chuckled in pleased amusement, noticing how the redhead's body was slowly relaxing. The small red tint on the sand demon's cheeks was surely a good sign as well.

Gaara snapped to attention and Neji tensed as a sharp ringing suddenly ripped through the air. With a growl, Neji pulled back and slowly reached into the redhead's pocket, pulling out his bothersome phone.

He flipped it open and turned around before hissing irritably into the speaker, "What?"

"_What __the __hell__? __Neji__?!"_

"Yes, that is who you're speaking to. What do you want, Uzumaki? I was a little busy." The sorcery demon sighed impatiently, not at all pleased with _finally _having Gaara start to comply with his advanced and then be interrupted.

"_Where __the __hell __is __Gaara__?! __Let __me __talk __to __him__!" _The blonde demanded.

"He's busy."

"_Don__'__t__-"_

Neji snapped the phone shut and froze when he heard a car door slam shut. Turning back around, he cursed silently at seeing Gaara sitting in the passenger seat of his car with Ryo on his lap, a rather pissed expression on his pale face. Well, shit. At least the freaking raccoon looked happy.

Silently, Neji walked around the car and got into the driver's seat. He held out the redhead's phone and quickly had it snatched away. Realizing that now probably wouldn't be the best time to start a conversation, Neji started up the car and pulled out of Gichi's parking lot without another word.

**~~~CRIMSON ****SANDS~~~**

The black Camaro pulled smoothly into the school parking lot and Neji hesitated before deciding to finally speak to Gaara.

"Thank you for coming out with me, Gaara," Neji said, not a hint of sarcasm in his voice. "I...hope you enjoyed it. I'll have the contract for the storage house wrote up and brought to you tomorrow."

"...Okay," Gaara muttered, unbuckling his seat belt before climbing out of the car. He put Ryo back on his head and paused when he went to shut the car door, his pissed expression still plastered on his face. "...Thank you for the lunch. It was...alright. But it won't happen again." The redhead quickly slammed the door before making way for the beach where his friend would surely be waiting for him.

Neji watched him walk away in shock. In a way, had Gaara just been _nice _to him? Or was it polite anger? The sorcery demon hummed and leaned back in his seat.

_Either __way__, _Neji thought in amusement. _He __did __thank __me__. __It__'__s __not __much__, __but __it__'__s __certainly __a __start__._

**End ****of ****Chapter**** 14!**

**OH ****MY ****GOD ****I****'****VE ****LEFT ****YOU ****GUYS ****WAITING ****FOR ****SO ****LONG**** *****sobs*******

**DOES ****THIS ****RARE****, ****LONG ****ASS ****CHAPTER ****MAKE ****UP ****FOR ****IT****? ****PLEASE ****SAY ****YES****!**

**Seriously****, ****sorry ****for ****taking ****so ****long**** ^^;**

**PLEASE ****REVIEW****! :3**


	15. Resolved Issues, Shredded Tissues

**AuUUUGH****! ****I****'****m ****so ****sorry ****for ****leaving ****you ****all ****hanging ****for ****so ****long****! **

**I****'****ve ****been ****super ****busy ****and ****I ****went ****to ****a ****convention ****and ****had ****to ****prepare ****for ****it ****and ****all ****kinds ****of ****stuff****! ****That****, ****and ****I ****finally ****managed ****to ****get ****a ****boyfriend ****a ****while ****back ****and ****we****'****ve ****been ****hanging ****out ****a ****lot****! :) **

**I****'****LL ****MAKE ****THIS ****CHAPTER ****SUPER ****GOOD ****AND ****SPECIAL ****FOR ****YOU ****A****-...**

**CRAP****. ****I ****CAN****'****T ****EXACTLY ****SAY ****THIS ****WILL ****BE ****A****...'****GOOD****' ****CHAPTER ****PER-SAY.**

**Ehehehe****... ****Just ****read****! ****XD**

**PREPARE ****FOR ****THE ****FEELS****!**

Gaara groaned and pressed a hand to his already aching head and sat up in bed, Ryo snuggled comfortably against his side. After his 'date' with Neji a few days ago things had been pretty uneventful besides being thoroughly questioned by his friends. All of them had wanted to know what happened on the date and if Neji had tried anything unsavory. Knowing that they wouldn't let up on the subject, especially Naruto, Gaara had sat down and gave them a rather bland description of the date. The kiss was left out for obvious reasons.

The next couple of days following the date, though, Gaara had begun to notice a few things that were beginning to concern him a bit. Whenever he drank something, even just a bit of water, there would be a mind numbingly awful pain that would rip through his stomach and chest. The only person he'd confessed about the pain to was Ryo. As soon as the words 'stomach pains' had come out of his mouth, the little raccoon had gone livid and started squeaking and scurrying around the room, going on about how he needed to tell Temari and Kankuro and that he needed to go see a doctor. Gaara had blatantly refused and demanded that Ryo not tell anyone.

Now, though, Gaara realized that something else was wrong. It was eleven o'clock in the morning, and he had fallen asleep last night. He _never _slept at night, and made up for it by napping in the day sometimes. But lately he'd started to feel more and more tired, and the bags under his eyes had become more visible by the week. The fact that he'd actually fallen asleep at night worried him greatly. And to make matters worse, he'd already missed his first two classes of the day.

Sighing and rubbing the sleep from his his eyes, Gaara sat up, frowning when he felt his stomach turn a little. He shrugged it off, just blaming it on sitting up too fast, and slid off the bed.

Big mistake.

The minute he was standing up straight, blinding pain exploded in his stomach causing him to cry out and fall to the ground. He instinctively wrapped his arms around his stomach and breathed heavily, the pain continuing to come in waves and causing his vision to swim. Ryo was at his side in seconds, squeaking animatedly to find out what was wrong. Gaara opened his mouth to speak but couldn't seem to form any words, the pain forming a lump in his throat and sticking. The pain only seemed to grow worse and soon Gaara was hyperventilating, a cold sweat breaking out over his body. The raccoon demon soon began to tremble, his body hunching over as he began to dry heave, tears pricking at the corners of his eyes.

Ryo quickly began to panic as his best friend suffered on the floor, unsure of what to do. Deciding quickly that he wouldn't be able to do anything alone, he zipped to the door and clawed his way up to the doorknob, using his body weight to make it turn and open. He thanked the heavens that Gaara had forgotten to lock his door as he shot down the hallways of the boy's dorm and out the doors, heading towards the educations building.

**~~~CRIMSON ****SANDS~~~**

Neji sat in his Demon Culture class with a rather pinched expression on his face. Today had been rather good except for the fact that he hadn't seen head nor tail of Gaara. He'd been enjoying their little exchanges a lot more now that the redhead didn't seem to completely hate him. He had actually considered restating his proposal to court Gaara today, but with the redhead's absence it didn't seem likely to happen.

A sigh escaped the sorcery demon's lips as he pondered what would keep Gaara from coming to school. He frowned when he thought about the redhead being sick, an unsettling feeling taking up residence in his chest.

As the class went on, the unsettling feeling continued to grow and it got to the point where Neji could no longer focus on the class and all he could think about was Gaara. The sorcery demon started to raise his hand to ask if he could use the restroom, and he fully intended to use that time to go check on his little redhead instead.

BAM!

Just about everyone in the classroom jumped and few people screamed as something slammed into the classroom door. The teacher stared at the door in confusion for a few seconds before cautiously walking over to it and turning the knob. The door wasn't even halfway open before a red blur shot inside and made a beeline for Neji.

The sorcery demon sat up straight as Ryo stood on his desk, staring at him intensely. The little raccoon wasted no time in starting up a series of frantic and distressed squeaks, his body moving in panic. Neji wasn't quite sure of what was being said, but he was quickly able to put the pieces together.

Ryo never left Gaara's side, and yet here he was alone. Gaara hadn't been seen all day, and Ryo had come to Neji in a state of panic. The safest conclusion to make was that Gaara was in some sort of trouble.

Without a word to the teacher or anyone else, Neji stood and was out the door before anyone could blink, Ryo hot on his heels. Neji ignored the angry calls of students and teachers as he ran through the halls of the educations building, his mind only focused on getting to a certain redhead's dorm as fast as possible. He just hoped that his instincts were right, and that was where he was

**~~~CRIMSON ****SANDS~~~**

Naruto huffed in irritation as he stared at his messy haired friend, crossing his arms. Kiba was once again freaking out over the fact that Shino thought Naruto was courting him, yet he refused to tell him yet. Choji, Shikamaru, and Lee were sitting to the side, watching the two friends 'argue' with each other since the beginning of lunch..

"What are you so afraid of?! If you tell him he'll probably be happy! And then he'd be able to court you!" Naruto exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air.

Kiba groaned and hit his head on the palm tree behind him, drawing his legs up. "Who said I even want him to court me?!"

Naruto gave the others of the group and exasperated look, running a hand through his gold spikes. "Kiba, you turn into a pile of mush when Shino comes around. It's no secret that you like him, and it's obvious that he feels really strongly for you. Granted, it pisses me off that he hangs out with Neji and Sasuke, but I honestly couldn't think of a better person to court you...As long as he doesn't hurt."

A look of shock passed Kiba's face as he stared at his blonde friend. He bit his lower lip and scratched the back of his head as he thought in silence for the next few minutes. Finally he sighed and said, "I can't...I'm too afraid that he'll reject me after all this..."

Naruto studied his friend's expression before letting out an irritated yell. He quickly stood up and scanned the beach, looking for a familiar face covered by a collar and a pair of dark glasses.

"N-Naruto, what are you doing?!" Kiba demanded, sitting up a little.

The blonde huffed and looked down at him. "I'm ending this pointless tension! I'm tired of it!"

He finally spotted his target and began to stiffly make his way there, ignoring the objecting calls of Kiba. As he approached, the many fans of the Assholes quickly began to part a path and loud murmuring began. They were probably expecting a fight, if anything.

Naruto stopped walking when he was standing directly in front of Shino, who was sitting on a large towel next to Sasuke. He stood up and stared icily at the fox demon behind his shades.

"What are you doing here, dobe?" Sasuke demanded, starting to stand up.

Naruto didn't look at the raven haired man as he said, "Shut up, teme. I'm here to talk to bug boy."

Sasuke said nothing in response as he watched the two stare at each other. If they started to fight, he would have to break it up. He knew Shino was still pissed due to the whole Kiba situation and he really didn't want his little fox getting hurt.

"Look, there's something I need to make perfectly clear because honestly, I'm tired of having to deal with all the shit that's been following this whole ordeal," Naruto began, get a few surprised looks due to how serious and, well, composed he was. "When you announced your wanting to court Kiba, he sort of went into a panic and blurted out an answer without giving it any thought. I'm not courting Kiba and I don't intend to. He's all yours...but you better not hurt him." When he finished speaking, Shino visibly relaxed, all feelings of anger crumbling.

"...Thank you for informing me." Shino stated quietly, giving a slight nod of the head.

Realizing this was probably the best he was going to get, Naruto gave a nod of his own and turned to leave. His departure was halted though when a firm grip took hold of his arm.

"Hold on, dobe," Sasuke said when the blonde had finally turned to meet his gaze. "I need to talk to you. _Now__._"

Naruto tensed at the cursed demon's tone, it leaving no room for objections. Of course, he was never one to be completely intimidated by a tone alone.

"Err...actually, I think I'm just gonna go back and sit with the guys..." Naruto muttered, looking down at the hand on his arm in a silence request to be released.

"It wasn't a request, Naruto."

The blonde's eyes and about everyone else's widened in shock. Sasuke rarely ever called Naruto by his actual name.

Next thing the fox demon knew, he was being dragged across the beach by the taller demon, heading towards the dormitories. Sasuke waited until they were at the side of the building before finally releasing the other's arm.

Naruto huffed and rubbed his arm, glaring at Sasuke as he waited for their 'talk' to begin.

Sasuke finally looked over at him after a few minutes of silent thinking. "You're not courting Kiba?"

Naruto stared at the cursed demon in disbelief, having to resist the urge to smack himself in the face. Had the teme not just heard his conversation with Shino?! He was supposed to be the smart one of the two!

"Of course I'm not!" Naruto huffed, leaning back against the wall of the building. "I just blatantly told Shino that not even five minutes ago!"

Sasuke pondered this for a moment before he seemed to come to some sort of decision. He turned to face the blonde and slowly began to advance on him. Naruto tensed but didn't try to escape. The sorcery demon wasn't approaching him with malice. If anything he seemed sort of...nervous. Sasuke stopped only a few centimeters away from the shorter demon, staring intently into his piercing blue eyes.

"Naruto. I request...to court you."

Naruto's eyes widened and he stared at the other dumbly. It took a minute or two before what Sasuke said actually clicked in his head.

"YOU WHAT?!"

**~~~CRIMSON ****SANDS~~~**

When he finally reach Gaara's room, Neji wasn't sure if he was relieved or bothered by the fact that his door was cracked open. Without hesitation, he quickly pushed open the door. Gaara was laying face down on the floor, unmoving. Neji rushed over to him, panic gripping his heart, and gently turned him over, studying him thoroughly yet quickly. He felt only a bit of relief at seeing that Gaara was still breathing, but he still didn't know what was wrong with the redhead.

Neji quickly decided he was no doctor, and he needed to get Gaara to one. He knew a few healing spells but they would do nothing if he didn't know what the problem was. Picking the redhead up as gently as possible, Neji quickly made his way out the door, trying his best not to jostle the smaller demon too much. Ryo followed close behind, Gaara's cell phone in his mouth, as they made it outside and headed for Neji's car. Once there, Neji carefully laid the redhead down in the back, Ryo curling up on his chest, before taking his place behind the wheel. He pulled out of the school's parking lot and began driving to the closest hospital, throwing worried glances to the back seat the whole way.

**END ****OF ****CHAPTER**** 15!**

**Sorry ****for ****the ****short ****chapter****, ****but ****you ****guys ****wanted ****me ****to ****update ****so ****much ****that ****I ****decided ****to ****end ****it ****there****! ****I ****FINISHED ****THIS ****CHAPTER ****INSTEAD ****OF ****PAINTING ****MY ****NEW ****ROOM ****FOR ****YOU ****GUYS****! ****XD**

**Anyways****, ****my ****classes ****are ****starting ****up ****again ****and ****they ****are ****TOUGH****, ****so ****updates ****might ****come ****a ****bit ****more ****scarcely ****but ****I****'****ll ****try ****my ****best****! **

**Thanks ****so ****much ****for ****your ****support ****guys****! ****And ****please ****keep ****on ****pressuring ****me ****to ****update****, ****cause ****that****'****s ****what ****got ****my ****butt ****going****! ****XD**

**Also****...****would ****any ****of ****you happen to ****be ****going ****to ****a ****convention ****called ****Koku ****Manga****? ****Its ****in ****Johnson ****City****, ****TN****, ****and ****I****'****ll ****be ****going ****to ****it ****so ****let ****me ****know ****if ****you ****are ****too****! ^^**

**Next ****update ****will ****be ****a ****while ****because ****I ****have ****to ****write ****the ****next ****chapter ****of ****my ****SasuNaru ****fic****!**

**PLEASE ****REVIEW****! ****They ****help ****motivate ****me ****too****. ****XD**


End file.
